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
FHA Basics
HUD Resolves California Emotional Support Animal FHA Case for $8,500
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…
HUD Files Familial Status Fair Housing Act Charge Concerning Advertising
From time to time cases arrive which provide clear guidance about what to do (or perhaps what not to do) when advertising multifamily housing. To that end, earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) filed a familial status housing discrimination charge against a property manager in New Orleans based on…
Discussing the Application of Local Breed Specific Laws and Assistance Animals
There are many local jurisdictions around the country which have adopted what are referred to as a Breed Specific Law (BSL). As might be expected from its name, a BSL prohibits certain dog breeds (and/or breed mixes) from residing in a given city or county. BSL’s are passed in an effort to control what are…
HUD Files Housing Discrimination Complaint Against Facebook
Last month, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) filed a fair housing complaint against Facebook. Facebook? What does Facebook have to do with housing discrimination and the Fair Housing Act (FHA)? Well, with its complaint, HUD asserts that Facebook allows property managers and home sellers to use its advertising platform in such…
Some Further Thoughts on Fair Housing Act Medical Verifications
I have had a handful of reasonable accommodation requests come across my desk over the last month with the same issue: when the leasing office gets a medical verification, the health care provider identifies that the resident has a medical or mental condition (which is appropriate), but the verification (typically in a letter) does not…
HUD Files Racial Discrimination FHA Case in Mississippi
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) announced that it charged the owner and manager of a trailer park in Mississippi (with seven lots on 1.25 acres of land, each with water and utility hook ups) with violating the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) by failing to rent a lot…
This is the First Step Necessary to Qualify for a Reasonable Accommodation or Reasonable Modification
I have been watching a curious trend. As written in this space (and elsewhere), many apartment residents and applicants submit requests for reasonable accommodations (changes in rules or a polies) or reasonable modifications (physical or structural changes to an apartment home). Which is fine and absolutely appropriate. I train my leasing office staff members to…
These Types of Housing Are Covered Under the Fair Housing Act. And These Types of Housing Are Not.
If you are an apartment management professional, it is good practice to presume your community is covered under our federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) as well as its state (and/or city or county counterpart). Indeed, under the federal law “dwelling” is defined as “any building, structure, or portion thereof which is occupied as, or designed…
Virginia Offers Guidance For Confirming That Medical Verifications for Emotional Support Animals Are Legitimate
It is clear that just about all (if not all) of the federal, state, and local fair housing agencies are dealing with the exponential growth of online medical verifications for emotional support animals (ESA’s). I have addressed any number of ESA issues in this space. Professional apartment management companies continue to look for the appropriate…