Last week, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) announced that it settled a fair housing case alleging disability discrimination involving a live-in aid. Specifically, HUD reached an agreement with the owner and manager of a townhome community in California.

The settlement concludes a case filed by a resident with a mobility impairment asserting that she sought two reasonable accommodations: (1) a live-in aide; and (2) a key to a locked gate near her unit that would make it easier for her to come and go. The complaint alleged that with respect to both requests, the owner and manager asked inappropriate questions about her condition, challenged whether she really had a disability, and stated that the community was only for individuals who could live independently. After asking the intrusive questions, management denied the reasonable accommodation requests. The resident was then assisted by a fair housing advocacy group which filed a second complaint asserting discrimination.

Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, the owner and property manager will pay $4,000 to the resident and $7,000 to the fair housing group. The settlement further mandates the property owner keep the gate near the resident’s unit unlocked or provide her with a key, allows the resident to have a live-in caregiver, and requires management to participate in fair housing training.

The takeaway here is to ensure our leasing office team members know the law concerning what we can (and importantly what we cannot) ask when a resident submits a reasonable accommodation or reasonable modification request. I work with my clients to develop the appropriate forms to help prevent these types of cases from ever being filed. And if a complaint is filed, my goal is to have a paper trail (or an electronic file as we are in 2017) to permit me to defend against these types of allegations.

Just A Thought.