Fair Housing: Top 10 Things You Should Know to Prevent Discrimination Claims

Fair Housing Coach:
Top 10 Things You Should Know to
Prevent Discrimination Claims

From Fair Housing Coach, a monthly subscription that can
significantly reduce a multifamily property owner or
manager's risk of fair housing violations and expensive fines

Vendome Real Estate Media |
www.fairhousingcoach.com

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#1: It’s Illegal to Exclude Anyone Based on a Protected
Characteristic
You may wonder why fair housing law is still needed. After all, the country
has moved a long way from the old days when blatant discrimination
against racial minorities was common. Today, you’d never dream of
saying, “Whites Only” or “No Minorities” in signs or advertising. Yet signs
of such blatant discrimination continue, particularly on the Internet where
you don’t have to look hard to find ads saying, “Adults Only” or “No Kids.”
Just as it’s illegal to refuse to rent to anyone because of her race, you can’t
deny housing to anyone because she has a child under 18 living with her—
unless the community qualifies as a senior housing community. It’s not
easy to comply with all the legal requirements to qualify, such as recordkeeping rules to show that at least 80 percent of units are occupied by at
least one person 55 and older. Without complying with these and other
rules, your community could be accused of discrimination based on
familial status by refusing to allow children to live there.

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#2: Subtle Discrimination Is Just as Bad
Subtle forms of discrimination are just as illegal as blatantly discriminatory
policies. The FHA outlaws a wide range of discriminatory practices—from
outright refusals to rent to more subtle tactics—that operate to deny
housing based on a protected characteristic.
Last year, HUD reported that blatant acts of housing discrimination faced
by minority home seekers continue to decline in the United States, yet
more subtle forms of housing denial stubbornly persist. The report was
based on the results of fair housing testing involving 8,000 pair tests in 28
metropolitan areas across the country. Though few were denied an
appointment to see an advertised unit, the study found that real estate
agents and rental housing providers recommended and showed fewer
available homes and apartments to African-American, Asian, and Hispanic
families.

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#2: Subtle Discrimination Is Just as Bad
(continued)
“Fewer minorities today may be getting the door slammed in their
faces, but we continue to see evidence of housing discrimination that can
limit a family’s housing, economic, and educational opportunities,” HUD
Secretary Shaun Donovan said in a statement. “It’s clear we still have work
to do to end housing discrimination once and for all.”
Among other things, it’s unlawful to provide inaccurate or untrue
information about the availability of a unit because of
race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national
origin, according to HUD regulations. You could open your community up
to liability for significant damages for misrepresenting availability to
prospects based on their race or national origin.


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#3: Don’t Make It Harder
Take the time to learn your community’s standard policies and procedures
and apply them to everyone expressing an interest in—or living at—your
community. Consistency is the key to avoid accusations that you’re treating
anyone better—or worse—than anyone else based on her
race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, or familial status.
For example, you shouldn’t make the application process harder for
minority prospects—or anyone else protected under fair housing law.
Applying more burdensome application procedures, requiring additional
documentation, or using delaying tactics based on a protected
characteristic could lead to a discrimination claim.


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#4: Watch Your Words
What you say could come back to haunt you. Under the FHA, it’s
unlawful to make, print, or publish statements that suggest any
preference, limitation, or discrimination based on
race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, or familial status.
These rules apply to any statements—spoken or written. So you could
face a fair housing claim if you make discriminatory statements when
communicating with prospects or residents—whether on the phone, in
person, or responding by email. You should watch what you say since a
fair housing problem could arise whenever you’re dealing with
prospects or residents in the office, in the hallway, or in their units.
The rules also apply to discriminatory advertising—even online. Even
though the rules have been around a while, HUD says that the ban on
discriminatory advertising applies to any form of
communication, whether in traditional forms of media or on the
Internet. And in some cases, online advertising has led to accusations
of discrimination under state fair housing laws.

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#5: Keep Personal Opinions to Yourself
We all have personal opinions about how people should behave based
on where we live, how we were raised, and other factors, such as our
religious beliefs or political views. Of course, everyone is entitled to
have personal opinions, but it’s important to remember that they are
just that—strictly personal.
Don’t allow your personal beliefs or political opinions to affect how you
treat prospects, applicants, or residents. For example, some people
disapprove of unmarried women having children, but showing that
disapproval in the way you treat them could trigger a discrimination
claim based on familial status.


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#5: Keep Personal Opinions to Yourself
(continued)
Guard against allowing your views on hotly divisive political issues—
such as immigration reform—from spilling over into the workplace. You
could face a discrimination claim based on national origin if you treat
prospects differently because they’re members of a particular ethnic
group.
Don’t be thrown off by first impressions based on the way applicants or
residents look, dress, or speak. Often, they reflect cultural differences
associated with race, national origin, or religion, all of which are
protected under fair housing law. Take care to avoid even the
appearance of unfavorable or discriminatory treatment.


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#6: You Can Be ‘Too Helpful’
Take care to maintain a professional manner when dealing with
prospects, applicants, and residents. You may think you’re just being
nice, but you could trigger a fair housing problem by being too nice—or
too helpful—for the wrong reasons.
The prime example is unlawful steering—that is, guiding applicants
to—or away from—the community or particular parts of the
community based on a protected characteristic. In some cases, it’s
based on racial or ethnic bias—to keep minorities out of the
community or segregated in certain areas within the community. But
sometimes, it’s out of a well-intentioned—but misguided—attempt to
help the applicant. For example, you may believe that an individual
with a disability would prefer to live in a first-floor unit, but you could
trigger a discrimination claim if you don’t tell her about available units
on other floors that meet her needs. It’s unlawful to limit a prospect’s
housing choices based on your beliefs about what she would prefer or
what would be best for her because she has a disability.

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#7: Don’t Pick on Anybody—Especially the Kids
It’s okay to enforce reasonable rules, especially in common
areas, where the community has a legitimate interest in maintaining
the property, ensuring safety, and protecting the right of all residents
to peaceful enjoyment of their homes. Just make sure that the rules
don’t unfairly target families with children—or anyone else protected
under fair housing law.
You may have legitimate concerns about outdoor play activities that
could disturb neighbors or damage your landscaping—but you could
trigger a discrimination complaint if the rules unreasonably interfere
with the ability of families with children to live in the community.


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#8: Don’t Be Too Quick to Say ‘No’
Applying standard rules and procedures for all your residents is
important, but there’s a catch: You may have to make exceptions for
individuals with disabilities.

Fair housing law includes special provisions protecting individuals with
disabilities. Among other things, the law requires housing providers to
consider requests for reasonable accommodations in
policies, procedures, and services when necessary to allow an individual with
a disability to use and enjoy use of the home.
It’s easy to see the need for an exception to community rules when an
individual has an obvious disability-related need for the request. If your
community has a “no pets” policy, for example, you must grant a request for a
reasonable accommodation to allow a visually impaired resident to keep a
guide dog, according to federal guidelines. It’s clear that the individual has a
disability-related need for the exception and that enforcing the rules would
interfere with his ability to live there.

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#8: Don’t Be Too Quick to Say ‘No’
(continued)
But it’s not so easy when the request comes from an applicant or
resident who doesn’t have an apparent disability. The law covers a
broad range of impairments, many of which are not obvious or
apparent, and allows you to request documentation under certain
circumstances.

Just don’t be too hasty to reject requests just because you’re unsure
whether a prospect or applicant is, in fact, disabled.
Otherwise, you’re likely to face a disability discrimination complaint.


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#9: Don’t Bite Off More Than You Can Chew
There’s a lot you can do on your own—and with the COACH’s help—to avoid
fair housing problems, but don’t be afraid of getting outside help when the
circumstances deserve it. Court dockets are full of cases where
owners, managers, or employees tried to go it alone—often with unfortunate
results.
Sometimes a seemingly simple problem suddenly gets out of hand, and other
times, it’s a complicated legal issue. Requests for reasonable
accommodations often fall into this category, particularly for exceptions to
pet policies to allow the resident to have an assistance animal. Perhaps the
resident doesn’t have an apparent disability—or perhaps the animal is a pit
bull or other restricted breed. You may—or may not—have to grant the
request, but you do have to give it thoughtful consideration. Following the
rules can be challenging, so it’s a good idea to get legal advice if you’re not
sure what to do.

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#10: Stay on Top of Paperwork
Everyone is very busy these days, so you may find that you have
little time—or inclination—to sit down and do the paperwork. Big
mistake: Good record keeping is essential to defend yourself—and
your community—from accusations of a fair housing violation.
Under the law, people have quite a long time to file a fair housing
complaint. It may be months—or years—since the alleged
discrimination occurred. Without the paperwork, how can you be
expected to remember just what happened? Even if you do, it’s
not as good as documentation created at the time of the events in
question. Memories fade, and stories change, so it gives the other
side a leg up if you can’t produce the records to back up your side
of the story.


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Fair Housing: Top 10 Things You Should Know to Prevent Discrimination Claims

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Fair Housing: Top 10 Things You Should Know to Prevent Discrimination Claims