Cases and Settlements

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HUD recently charged the owner and managers of a New York community for allegedly discriminating against people with disabilities who required the use of assistance animals.

Federal fair housing law prohibits communities from denying or limiting housing to persons with disabilities; the law also makes it unlawful to refuse to make reasonable accommodations in policies or practices, including requests to waive no-pet policies for assistance animals.

HUD recently charged the owners and managers of a Kansas community for allegedly discriminating against a resident with disabilities by not renewing her lease, sending her a notice containing discriminatory statements about her disability, and retaliating against her for filing a previous fair housing complaint.

The owner of a Virginia community has agreed to pay $40,000 to settle a fair housing case for allegedly refusing to accept Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) as income, according to a recent announcement by Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia, Inc. (HOME). In its HUD complaint, HOME alleged that failure to accept disability income for housing discriminates against people because of their disability, which is a violation of federal fair housing law. The community, W.S.

The Justice Department recently announced that the owners and developers of 71 multifamily housing communities in four states have agreed to pay $350,000 to settle claims that they violated federal fair housing law by building apartment complexes that were inaccessible to persons with disabilities. All but two of the communities were built with financial assistance from the federal government’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program or other federal programs, and include more than 2,500 ground-floor units.

The Justice Department recently sued a West Virginia man, who owned and managed rental property with his late wife, for allegedly subjecting female residents to egregious sexual harassment and retaliation in violation of federal fair housing law. The husband is currently incarcerated, serving up to 10 years for sexual abuse and other charges, some related to the allegations in the complaint. The wife has since died.

HUD recently announced a settlement agreement with Baltimore County, Md., to expand affordable housing in higher opportunity areas throughout the county. The settlement will serve as a catalyst to promote housing mobility and to assist the county and its surrounding areas in developing comprehensive affordable housing planning and strategies that address residential segregation, according to HUD.

The owner and operator of a Florida mobile home park has agreed to pay $60,000 to resolve allegations that it discriminated against African Americans, according to a recent announcement by the Justice Department.  

HUD recently announced that a group of Connecticut landlords has agreed to resolve complaints alleging discrimination against families with children. According to the complaint, the owners and their on-site property manager allegedly refused to rent a two-bedroom apartment to a single mother and her two young children.

Kent State University recently agreed to settle a fair housing case filed by the Justice Department alleging that the university had maintained a policy of not allowing students with psychological disabilities to keep emotional support animals in university-operated student housing. Under the settlement agreement, the university agreed to:

The Justice Department recently filed a fair housing complaint against a 1,144-unit cooperative apartment complex in Brooklyn, N.Y., for allegedly refusing to allow residents with disabilities to keep emotional support animals.