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Fair Housing Guidance for Persons with Limited English Proficiency, September 15, 2016

October 1, 2016

On September 15, 2016, the HUD Office of General Counsel provided guidance on Fair Housing Act protections for persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). The guidance discusses how the Fair Housing Act (FHA) applies to housing providers when dealing with…

Avoiding Discrimination Based on Sex in Housing

July 25, 2016

Avoiding Discrimination Based on Sex in the Provision of Housing Federal law did not prohibit sex discrimination in housing until 1974, when a non-controversial provision of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 added “sex” as a…

Housing Discrimination Based on Religion

May 3, 2016

Discrimination Based on Religion In this third installment in my series on the Fair Housing Act protected categories, I want to review some of the issues relevant to discrimination based on religion. Religion is one of the characteristics…

HUD Releases Final AFFH Assessment Tool

April 10, 2016

HUD Releases Final AFFH Assessment Tool On March 23, 2016, HUD published a Notice in the Federal Register regarding the final Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Assessment tool. This tool is for Public Housing Agencies. HUD had already released assessment…

HUD Issues Guidance on Criminal Record Screening

April 6, 2016

On April 4, 2016, the HUD Office of General Counsel (Helen R. Kanovsky) issued guidance on the relationship of using criminal records as a screening tool for housing decisions to federal fair housing laws. The essence of the guidance is…

Fair Housing Enforcement at LIHTC Properties

April 2, 2016

Fair Housing Enforcement at LIHTC Properties A violation of fair housing law is reportable noncompliance for Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) properties. It is reported on Line 11h of IRS Form 8823, along with any other finding of noncompliance…

Discrimination Based on National Origin

March 27, 2016

This is my second in a series of articles focusing in detail on each of the seven characteristics that are protected under the federal Fair Housing Act. These seven characteristics (also known as “Protected Classes”) are race, color, national origin,…

Verifying the Need for a Live-in Aide in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Properties

February 20, 2016

Verifying the Need for a Live-in Aide in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Properties Most housing managers are aware that due to the requirements of fair housing law, properties must at times allow someone to live with a disabled resident…

Discrimination Based on Race

February 14, 2016

Over the next few months, I intend to do a series of articles focusing in detail on each of the seven characteristics that are protected under the federal Fair Housing Act. These seven characteristics (also known as “Protected Classes”) are…

Understanding Vicarious Liability

January 12, 2016

Understanding “Vicarious Liability” – A Key Element of Harassment Liability Under Fair Housing Law In October 2015, HUD issued a proposed rule to create a new fair housing regulation that will apply to both private and federally assisted communities.…

Fair Housing Trends – 2015

December 28, 2015

As we approach the end of the year, it is interesting to look back on 2015 and review the trends in fair housing that affect how we manage our properties. 2015 was an extremely active year from a fair housing…

Local Ordinances and Assistance Animals

November 15, 2015

Apartment owners and managers are well aware that when required due to the disability of an applicant or a resident, no matter what a property’s policy on pets may be, fair housing law requires that individuals with disabilities be permitted…

Quid Pro Quo and Hostile Environment HUD Proposed Rule, October 21, 2015

October 26, 2015

HUD has published a proposed rule in the October 21, 2015 Federal Register titled, “Quid Pro Quo and Hostile Environment Harassment and Liability for Discriminatory Housing Practices Under the Fair Housing Act.” This proposed rule will formalize standards for use…

HUD Moving Aggressively on Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing

August 17, 2015

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is moving forward aggressively with the departments new “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” campaign to desegregate the country’s primarily white neighborhoods. Rockford, IL will be an early test for HUD’s ability to impose…

Assistance Animals – A Reminder on What is Required

August 5, 2015

On July 15, 2015, HUD charged the owners and manager of Viking Villas, a 36-unit apartment complex in Sioux Falls, SD, with a violation of the Fair Housing Act for refusing to grant a reasonable accommodation to a disabled resident…

Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing – HUD Final Rule

July 18, 2015

On July 8, 2015, the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) issued a final rule on the procedures that must be followed by localities with regard to affirmatively furthering fair housing. The rule directs HUD program participants to take…

HUD Guidance on First Amendment Conflict with Fair Housing

July 4, 2015

HUD Guidance on First Amendment Conflict with Fair Housing The Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) published Notice FHEA-2015-01 on May 26, 2015. The title of the Notice is Substantive and Procedural Limitations on Filing and Investigating Fair…

Supreme Court Decision on Disparate Impact, June 25, 2015

June 29, 2015

Supreme Court Rules on Disparate Impact On June 25, 2015, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling on Texas Department of Housing & Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Community Project, Inc. The ruling found that housing policies…

Familial Status Case – Issue of Separate Sex and Bedrooms, April 2015

May 25, 2015

On April 30, 2015, HUD entered into a Conciliation Agreement with Piilani Gardens, LLC regarding alleged familial status discrimination at Piilani Gardens Apartments in Kihei, Hawaii. Piilani Gardens is a family project, but two of the 18 buildings in…

Familial Status Discrimination Case Warns Against Unreasonable Play Area Rules for Children

May 25, 2015

One of the Questions I often am asked during fair housing training is whether children can be restricted from playing in the common areas of apartment communities. The answer depends on the specifics of the community, but generally, rules relating…

HUD Notice CPD-15-02, Appropriate Placement for Transgender Persons in Single Sex Emergency Shelters and Other Facilities – February 20, 2015

May 17, 2015

HUD published Notice CPD-15-02 on February 20, 2015, providing further guidance on the placement of transgender persons in single-sex emergency shelters and other facilities. This guidance is provided in order to clarify the final rule published by HUD on February…

Medical Marijuana as a Reasonable Accommodation

December 15, 2014

Forest City Residential Management v. Beasley, December 2014. In one of the first major cases relating to whether the use of medically prescribed marijuana must be permitted as a reasonable accommodation, a Michigan district court has ruled that such…

“Indepent Living” Requirement Discriminatory

November 21, 2014

As if to put an exclamation point on its’ requirement that the ability to live independently not be a condition of apartment living, HUD has reached a conciliation agreement with Huntington Management, operators of five “independent living” properties known as…

HUD Makes Fair Housing Awards in 42 States and DC – October 15, 2014

October 15, 2014

The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today (October 15, 2014) that it has awarded $38.3 million to more than 100 fair housing organizations in 43 states and the District of Columbia to address housing discrimination. The competitive grants…

Local Ordinance May Not Be Adequate for Refusal to Allow Certain Breeds as Companion Animals

October 9, 2014

In Warren v. Delvista Towers Condominium Association, Inc. July 2014, a resident sued a a community for failure to accommodate his disability by allowing him to keep a pit bull as an emotional support animal. Miami-Dade County prohibits pit bulls…

Supreme Court to Hear Disparate Impact Fair Housing Case

October 8, 2014

The United States Supreme Court has agreed to accept a petition to consider the case Texas Department of Housing & Community Affairs (TDHCA) v. Inclusive Communities. Background Inclusive Communities successfully argued to the lower courts that TDHCA allocated low-income…

Familial Status Discrimination Case Illustrates Importance of Treatment of Children

October 3, 2014

On Friday, July 25, 2014, the United States Department of Justice announced an agreement with the owners of Woodland Garden Apartments in Fremont, California, settling allegations of discrimination against families with children. Under the Consent Order, the owners are required…

Medical Marijuana and Multifamily Housing

July 14, 2014

Medical Marijuana and Multifamily Housing An increasing number of states are legalizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, DC, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey,…

Medical Marijuana Presents Management Challenges

May 30, 2014

As of April 2014, 21 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana, and two states – Washington and Colorado – have legalized recreational use of marijuana. This creates a number of issues for owners and managers of…

Requiring Adult Supervision of Children May Cross the Line to a Fair Housing Violation

April 25, 2014

A recent fair housing court case (Dumas v. Sunview Properties, February 2014) has clarified that while it is OK to have property rules relating to the safety of children, rules relating to behavior and rules requiring unreasonable supervision of children…

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