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The Springfield Housing Authority in Massachusetts recently agreed to settle allegations of discrimination against an 82-year-old deaf resident, who allegedly did not receive the same access to communications as individuals without disabilities. The housing authority was accused of refusing to grant a reasonable accommodation that would have provided the long-time resident with the equipment needed to receive the same level of notification available to hearing tenants and allegedly denied her equal access to services they provide to other residents.
Fair housing advocates in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio recently filed a fair housing complaint against a large regional property management company, alleging systemic discrimination against families with children across 20 properties evaluated in three states. The lawsuit accused the Indianapolis-based property management company, which owns and operates more than 8,000 rental housing units in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Alabama, of applying overly restrictive occupancy standards to unlawfully deny housing to families with children.
New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman recent announced a settlement requiring the owners of a community in Plattsburgh, N.Y., to stop denying assistance animals to disabled residents.
A real estate developer and an architect in Ohio recently agreed to pay $160,000 to settle allegations that they violated the Fair Housing Act by designing and constructing two neighboring condominium complexes with a variety of features that made them inaccessible to persons with disabilities, according to a recent announcement by the Justice Department.
A HUD Administrative Law Judge recently ruled against a Minnesota property manager accused of refusing to rent to prospects because of their disabilities. The judge ordered the manager to pay $27,000 to the prospects, $16,000 as a civil penalty, and $1,000 in other court sanctions.
The ruling stems from a HUD charge, filed last year, accusing the property manager of violating fair housing law by making discriminatory statements to the prospect and her roommate, and refusing to rent to them because they have mental disabilities.
The Seattle Office for Civil Rights (SOCR) recently filed charges against 23 property owners after its latest round of fair housing testing allegedly showed that prospective renters experienced different treatment from Seattle landlords based on familial status, disability, and use of a federal Section 8 voucher.
“Housing discrimination is real in Seattle—not something that just happens in other places,” Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said in a statement. “These test results tell us that we still have work to do to achieve fair housing in Seattle.”
Three real estate brokerage firms operating in New York City, Nassau County, and Westchester County recently settled fair housing claims alleging discrimination against prospects with Section 8 housing vouchers, according to a recent announcement by New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman. Local regulations prohibit housing discrimination based on lawful source of income, including government vouchers.
HUD recently announced that it has reached a $630,000 agreement with a group of Illinois property owners and a management company using rental screening policies that prevented applicants with mental disabilities from living in a supportive living complex that the group owned. The community was accused of violating the Fair Housing Act as well as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.
HUD recently announced that it has won an important appeal in a fair housing case against a Puerto Rico condominium association for discriminating against a resident with disabilities by refusing to allow him to keep an emotional support animal.
A New Jersey landlord recently agreed to pay $5,000 to settle allegations that he refused to rent to a prospect after she expressed her intention to pay her rent using federal Section 8 housing vouchers, according to an announcement by New Jersey Acting Attorney General Robert Lougy and the Division on Civil Rights.
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