"Hard and Fast"? Not So Fast...

The owners and operators of an 85-unit Lancaster, Pennsylvania apartment complex have agreed to pay for allegedly refusing to rent apartments to people who need a guide dog to accommodate a visual impairment.

According to the proposed consent order, the rental agent informed testers (posing as visually impaired prospects) that the complex's policy of banning dogs was a "hard and fast rule," and that management told her that no dogs — including guide dogs — may live on the property under any circumstances. The owners and operators, however, claimed they never gave the rental agent such instructions and that they would allow a tenant to live with a dog if the animal were needed as a reasonable accommodation for a disability.

Under the order, which the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed on October 8, 2008 and is subject to court approval, the owners and operators will pay up to $25,000 to compensate victims of the alleged discrimination, on top of a $35,500 civil penalty. In addition, they have agreed to set up non-discriminatory procedures and undergo fair housing training.