Reagan seeks crackdown on fair-housing violations

President Reagan asked Congress to beef up the government's ability to enforce the nation's fair-housing laws. Current law suffers from a gap in enforcement that allows up to one-fourth of all housing-discrimination complaints to go unremedied, Mr. Reagan said in a message to Congress.

The President said the gap should be closed by allowing the Justice Department to go to court on behalf of individuals who have been discriminated against. At present, the department can seek legal redress only when ''a pattern'' of discrimination exists.