So, what’s the first thing you should do if your professional apartment management company (or ownership entity or leasing office employee) receives a notice from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) or a similar state, city, or county agency informing them that a housing discrimination case has been filed? Of course, the…

A little wonky fair housing policy today. Last week, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) issued proposed new rules to amend how HUD interprets “disparate impact” under our federal Fair Housing Act (FHA). Public comment on HUD’s proposal is due on or before October 18, 2019.

I try never to do politics…

When I do fair housing training, I always say to my audience that if one of you has a question, I am willing to bet another person in the room has the same question.  Suspecting that is the case with my Fair Housing Defense blog readers, I wanted to answer some recent questions sent to…

Last week, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) stated it decided to charge the owners/manager of a rental home in Idaho with violation of the familial status discrimination provision in the Fair Housing Act (FHA). HUD will assert that a couple (and their seven children) were not permitted to rent a home…

In a statement released earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) announced that it settled a Fair Housing Act (FHA) sex discrimination case from California for $20,000. The facts involved allegations that the owners of an apartment complex refused to remove a husband from a lease after his wife (and…

I received two related questions concerning assistance animals that I thought easier to answer in a blog post. In essence, readers asked if there can be any restrictions on where an assistance animal is permitted to go in an apartment community. As is so often in the law, the answer depends on if the animal…

Last week, I got a demand letter from counsel for a resident concerning a reasonable accommodation request. That’s fine as they come in all the time. At the end of the letter, counsel demanded that we respond within three days or the lawyer will summarily conclude we denied the accommodation request. It irritates me when…

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that a disability discrimination claim from California settled for $8,500. The agreement resolved a complaint filed by a resident with a disability asserting discrimination under the Fair Housing Act related to an assistance animal. In the complaint, the resident alleged that she was threatened…