Fair Housing vs. Unfair Housing

Do you know the difference?

Knowing the difference between fair housing and unfair housing isn't as obvious as you might think. This blog aims to present a variety of important and interesting fair housing issues.

If you're an apartment professional, avoid costly mistakes by reading the stories of others who — even with good intentions — learned compliance lessons the hard way. (For the easy way, click here.)

If you live in an apartment, get familiar with your rights when it comes to housing discrimination, as well as your options for seeking justice.


Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Requiring Men to Mow the Lawn Doesn't Cut It

The manager of an Idaho property settled a case with the Department of Justice (DOJ) for his alleged sex discrimination under the Fair Housing Act. According to the DOJ complaint, the property manager refused to rent a single-family house to a single mother, her children, and a female friend because the manager had a bad experience with a single mother and her children who didn't care for their yard or perform other maintenance on another rental house he managed.

The consent decree, which a federal court entered on August 10, 2005, required the property manager to send the single mother $5,000 along with a written apology. He also agreed to take other steps to ensure fair housing compliance going forward, including replacing "husband's employment" and "wife's employment" with "if applicable, spouse's employment" on his rental application.

Did the property manager get off easy? Or was the settlement too harsh?


What do you think?

2 comments:

Yelena said...

I don't see why he should pay her anything. This is too close to socialism.

Anonymous said...

I have never in my life heard of such bull crap come to florida you ll have a house in no longer than 2 months max i promise .I have never in my life meet young men especially middle aged men that can live in the projects in florida we literally have to commit crimes and when we do we are called crimnals some sick crap .Try harder I promise you on everythign I know you ll get housing .