Information on and Compliance with the FHA
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) approved a settlement agreement concerning assistance animals and fees charged to residents. To resolve pending Fair Housing Act (FHA) disability discrimination complaints, the property owners and managers agreed to pay $20,500 to the Nevada housing advocacy group which filed the cases.
The allegations…
Earlier this month we noted that a federal court in Colorado ruled that the Fair Housing Act (FHA) prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation (although sexual orientation is not contained in the text of the statute). In that case, the district court judge concluded that ownership could not deny housing to a resident simply because…
A couple of weeks ago, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) announced that it was charging two property owners and two employees at a multifamily property in Kansas with violating the Fair Housing Act (FHA). In the case, HUD asserts that the defendants engaged in familial status discrimination by terminating the lease…
Thanksgiving is in the rear view mirror. Christmas, Hanukkah, and other holidays will be here sooner than we think. A great time for kids and families. Santa Claus. Christmas trees. Menorahs. Decorations. For professional apartment management, however, the question of what to do (or not do) with respect to holiday displays and decorations comes up…
When I started writing this blog, I was afraid that only my family and perhaps a couple of friends would actually read it. I remain gratified as to the number of hits Fair Housing Defense receives every month (I work for a big law firm, we track everything). However, today is my wife’s birthday (Hi…
While individuals with a criminal record are not listed as one of the seven protected class in our federal Fair Housing Act (FHA), the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) issued guidelines in April 2016 indicating that some apartment criminal screens have a “disparate impact” on African American and Hispanic applicants for housing as…
Late last month, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it settled another familial status Fair Housing Act (FHA) case pending against seven Michigan apartment complexes. The lawsuit, filed in November 2015, asserted that the defendants discriminated against families with children by prohibiting them from renting one bedroom units in the properties owned by…
Discrimination on the basis of sex was added as a protected class to our federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) in 1974 and is settled law. But, is discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender (LGBT) individuals covered under the FHA? Should it be? While LGBT persons are not specifically identified in the text of the…
The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a recent familial status Fair Housing Act (FHA) case in U.S. District Court in Minnesota, asserting that the owner and manager of a small apartment community treated families with children “less favorably” than adults with respect to the use of various common areas. The complaint also claimed that management…
Last week the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had resolved another Fair Housing Act (FHA) case, this time recovering $75,000 to settle a familial status discrimination complaint. The agreement to conclude the case remains pending before a federal district court judge in Colorado, but is expected to be approved.
The complaint asserted…
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