Many landlords are hesitant, if not scared, to rent to tenants whom they know or suspect have HIV or AIDS. They fear that doing so would put other tenants at high risk of contracting HIV/AIDS, and that they could face liability for any harm their tenants suffer.
But the Fair Housing Act (FHA), through its ban on disability-based discrimination, protects people with HIV/AIDS from being treated differently during the rental process, which means landlords can actually get into trouble if they refuse to rent to tenants simply because they have HIV/AIDS.
It's also important to be aware of the fact that HIV/AIDS isn't spread by casual contact or even through the air, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So, landlords (and other tenants) needn't fear an AIDS epidemic at their property.
I recently put together a set of dos and don'ts to avoid violating the FHA when it comes to renting to tenants with HIV or AIDS. Check them out in my article for Nolo.com, entitled "Dealing With Rental Applicants Who Have HIV/AIDS."
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.
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.
Showing posts with label HIV/AIDS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HIV/AIDS. Show all posts
Saturday, April 18, 2015
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Bowling Green Votes Unanimously to Expand Fair Housing Protections
On Monday night, the city council of Bowling Green, Ohio voted unanimously to modify the city's fair housing ordinance to protect people based on additional protected classes. The ordinance will take effect 30 days after it was signed, however some expect the issue to arise again as a referendum, according to the Sentinel-Tribune.
Bowling Green's protected classes will include the following: race, color, religion, national origin, gender, gender expression, gender identity, sex, pregnancy, age, sexual orientation, creed, ancestry, disability, military status, veteran status, marital status, family status, physical characteristics, HIV-status and genetic information.
The ordinance also establishes a new complaint process that focuses on conciliation. Next month, the Ohio legislature is expected to consider expanding the state's list of protected classes.
Which protected classes would you like to see in your state, city, or town? Do you think the federal law will be amended in your lifetime to include any additional protected classes?
What do you think?
Interesting to note:
Bowling Green's protected classes will include the following: race, color, religion, national origin, gender, gender expression, gender identity, sex, pregnancy, age, sexual orientation, creed, ancestry, disability, military status, veteran status, marital status, family status, physical characteristics, HIV-status and genetic information.
The ordinance also establishes a new complaint process that focuses on conciliation. Next month, the Ohio legislature is expected to consider expanding the state's list of protected classes.
Which protected classes would you like to see in your state, city, or town? Do you think the federal law will be amended in your lifetime to include any additional protected classes?
What do you think?
Interesting to note:
- In addition to expanding the list of protected classes, the council voted to remove "political ideology" as a protected class, for reasons unclear. Perhaps it was because of the inclusion of "creed," which is arguably more comprehensive.
- The council also approved a similar ordinance for workplace discrimination, though not by a unanimous vote.
Posted by
Ron Leshnower
at
August 20, 2009
Labels:
age,
color,
creed,
Fair Housing Act,
familial status,
HIV/AIDS,
marital status,
military status,
national origin,
Ohio,
race,
religion,
sex,
sexual orientation
Saturday, May 16, 2009
HIV and the FHA
A lawsuit filed May 12 by Lamba Legal on behalf of an alleged victim of housing discrimination against the owner of an assisted living facility in North Little Rock, Arkansas brings to light an aspect of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) that many landlords aren't aware of. Tenants who have HIV (or AIDS, for that matter) qualify for protection under the FHA's ban on disability discrimination because they have a physical impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.
In this case, the tenant, a retired university provost and minister, was allegedly evicted from the faciliy just after move-in because he has HIV. (He was first diagnosed with the virus in 1987 and disclosed it to the facility at the time he applied, according to the complaint, yet the facility approved his application.) According to the tenant, he did not require any special medical attention, and so the facility was not put in a position of having to provide medical services for which it wasn't licensed.
The tenant seeks compensatory and punitive damages from the facility and attorneys' fees, but also a permanent injunction so that the facility won't deny housing to people because of the fact they are living with HIV/AIDS.
Do you think a housing provider should have the right to reject prospects or evict tenants because they have HIV/AIDS? Do you think the staff of the assisted living facility in this case acted based on outdated and inaccurate beliefs about how the virus is spread? Would you feel comfortable living in a building in which one or more of your neighbors had HIV?
What do you think?
In this case, the tenant, a retired university provost and minister, was allegedly evicted from the faciliy just after move-in because he has HIV. (He was first diagnosed with the virus in 1987 and disclosed it to the facility at the time he applied, according to the complaint, yet the facility approved his application.) According to the tenant, he did not require any special medical attention, and so the facility was not put in a position of having to provide medical services for which it wasn't licensed.
The tenant seeks compensatory and punitive damages from the facility and attorneys' fees, but also a permanent injunction so that the facility won't deny housing to people because of the fact they are living with HIV/AIDS.
Do you think a housing provider should have the right to reject prospects or evict tenants because they have HIV/AIDS? Do you think the staff of the assisted living facility in this case acted based on outdated and inaccurate beliefs about how the virus is spread? Would you feel comfortable living in a building in which one or more of your neighbors had HIV?
What do you think?
Posted by
Ron Leshnower
at
May 16, 2009
Labels:
Arkansas,
assisted living,
disability,
Fair Housing Act,
HIV/AIDS
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