As I have written about before, under the “disparate impact” theory of liability, landlords can unintentionally violate the Fair Housing Act if their policies or practices disproportionately and adversely impact protected class members. This theory of liability was adopted by HUD in 2013 and upheld by the Supreme Court in 2015. And, for all
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What Not To Do 101: Lessons Learned From HUD’s Charge Against Facebook
Imagine this scenario for a second. You have a group of people searching for an apartment in the same city. A young mother with kids, a disabled gentleman with a service animal, a couple from Puerto Rico, and a wealthy, middle aged man. The owner of the apartment community denies each person the ability to…
Too Much of a Good Thing? Processing Requests for Multiple Assistance Animals
One question that has been popping up recently is how pet limits apply to assistance animals. As I have written about before, pet limits in the form of breed and/or weight restrictions do not apply to assistance animals (i.e., you cannot deny a resident’s assistance animal because he is a German Shepherd or otherwise…
Handicap Inaccessibility at a Property in Colorado: A Serious Design Flaw
In keeping with a recent blog post, and in order to emphasize the importance of taking the Fair Housing Amendments Act (FHAA) seriously, I wanted to introduce a relatively recent HUD charge levied against a property in Denver to illustrate and substantiate HUD’s active concern with FHAA compliance issues. A Denver, Colorado property was…
The Government Shutdown and Its Impact on Fair Housing
With the government shutdown now surpassing a month, and the future still relatively uncertain, the functioning of HUD and many other federal organizations has reached a standstill. A government shutdown not only impacts federal workers and government employees, it also has a very real impact on landlords and tenants.
You may be thinking, why are…
From Architect to Owner (And Everyone In-Between): The Importance of Abiding by the Fair Housing Act Design and Construction Guidelines
Of all the potential violations of fair housing law, the one that gives me the most heartburn—and occasionally wakes me up at night in a cold sweat—is a violation of the design and construction guidelines of the Fair Housing Amendments Act (FHAA). Why am I so worried about that particular violation? Well, because—as I have…
Cheers to 50 Years: Celebrating the Fair Housing Act and Its Legacy
Looking at the Fair Housing Act from today’s perspective, it seems like simple common sense—of course we don’t want to be discriminatory in our housing practices. So why is the 50th birthday of the FHA such a big deal? In order celebrate the passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968, I thought I would…
One Big Happy Family? Alabama Property Management Company Faces Discrimination Charges
Ok, so I know I have written about this several times before. But apparently some people still haven’t gotten the message. So, one more time for the record—as a landlord, you cannot restrict the number of children at your property! Just don’t do it!
This issue hit my radar after I saw a recent …
It’s Hot Out Here – Can Fido Join Me At The Pool?
It’s summertime and everyone is headed to the pool – can my assistance animal join me? Well, before I can answer that, I have a couple of questions for you: 1) is your pool private or is it open to the public; and 2) do you have a service or emotional support animal?
So to…
A Case Of Wounded Pride: Emotional Support Peacock Denied Access To New Jersey Flight
As if keeping the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) straight wasn’t difficult enough, my practice also involves a horse of a different color—the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA). So I thought I would take a break from my usual topics and address the elephant in the room—the recent airline…