April 2009 Coach's Quiz

Coach's Answers & Explanations

QUESTION #1

Correct answer: b

Reason: The FHA prohibits communities from denying housing based on the applicant's race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, and familial status. However, the law does not require communities to accept applicants who don't meet reasonable screening standards, regardless of whether they are members of a protected class.

QUESTION #2

Correct answer: c

Reason: The FHA bans discrimination based on any of the seven characteristics, but it does not protect prospects because they are impatient and short-tempered.

Wrong answers explained:

1. The FHA bans discrimination based on religion, so it is illegal to discriminate against a prospect because he does not believe in God or doesn't have a religion.

2. A resident doesn't need to use a wheelchair or cane to qualify as disabled.

3. You cannot discriminate against residents based on the race of their guests.

QUESTION #3

Correct answer: b

Reason: To avoid a fair housing complaint, communities must not discriminate based on the federally protected characteristics as well as any other characteristics—such as age, marital status, or source of income—protected under state or local law.

QUESTION #4

Correct answer: c

Reason: Many state and local laws have added sexual orientation to their protected classes.

Wrong answers explained:

1. Although the FHA bans discrimination based on sex, that term refers to the gender of a prospect or resident—not his sexual orientation.

2. The FHA does not ban housing discrimination based on sexual orientation, but HUD says that it will evaluate complaints based on sexual orientation on a case-by-case basis to determine whether any other form of discrimination is present (such as age or disability, for example).

QUESTION #5*

Correct answer: a

Reason: The FHA prohibits advertising that indicates a preference based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability, so an advertisement stating a preference based on religion is illegal.

QUESTION #6

Correct answer: b

Reason: The FHA's ban on discriminatory advertising applies to all media, including newspapers, magazines, television, radio, and the Internet.

QUESTION #7

Correct answer: c

Reason: Advertisements may not state an explicit preference, limitation, or discrimination based on familial status or any federally protected class, so your advertising should describe the characteristics of the unit, not the people you think should live there.

Wrong answers explained:

1. According to HUD, advertisements may not contain limitations on the number or ages of children, or state a preference for adults, couples, or singles.

2. An advertisement that a unit is “perfect for singles” implies a preference against families with children.

QUESTION #8

Correct answer: b

Reason: Barring special circumstances, HUD guidelines say that reasonable occupancy standards are to allow no less than two persons per bedroom. However, occupancy standards that specify how many children, as opposed to how many people, can live in a unit violate fair housing law.

QUESTION #9

Correct answer: c

Reason: The FHA generally bans communities from excluding families with children, but you may refuse to rent to the family if you have reason to believe—from a reference check regarding the family's past and present behavior—that the family would not take care of the property or would not abide by its rules.

Wrong answers explained:

1. Unless it qualifies as senior housing, the FHA prohibits a community from refusing to rent to applicants solely because they have children. However, the law does not require communities to accept families with children if they do not otherwise qualify for your community.

2. Even if all of your other residents are adults, your community may not exclude families with children unless it meets strict technical requirements to be considered “housing for older persons” under the FHA.

QUESTION #10*

Correct answer: a

Reason: Unless it qualifies under the senior housing exemption, a community may not treat families with children under the age of 18 differently than it treats others, either with respect to building assignment or in any other way.

QUESTION #11

Correct answer: b

Reason: The FHA prohibits you from steering prospects by telling them only about certain vacancies in your community, but it does not require you to show all available units to the prospect, even though she has children, if she wants to see only vacancies that are close to the pool.

QUESTION #12

Correct answer: c

Reason: Answering questions related to the racial, ethnic, or religious composition of your community or whether children live there could land you in fair housing trouble—especially if the person asking the question is a tester, not a prospect. Tell him that your community's fair housing policy does not allow you to answer questions about the characteristics of other residents.

Wrong answers explained:

1. Answering the question could get you in fair housing trouble—regardless of the characteristics of the person asking the question.

2. The law forbids you from discussing the racial or ethnic characteristics of your residents, whether you are answering a prospect's question or bringing up the subject yourself.

QUESTION #13*

Correct answer: a

Reason: People with bad housekeeping habits are not protected under federal fair housing law. The owner may reject the application based on information about housekeeping habits obtained during a reference check, as long as he applies the same standards to all applicants, regardless of their race, color, religion, sex, nationality, familial status, or disability.

QUESTION #14

Correct answer: d

Reason: You may not steer prospects to live in certain parts of your community for discriminatory reasons. For example, you shouldn't assume that female prospects want to live near your laundry room, but if the prospect asks to see vacancies near the laundry facilities, you wouldn't violate fair housing law by showing them to her.

Wrong answers explained:

1. By waiving the credit check fee for female prospects he finds attractive, the leasing staff member is unfairly taking into account a prospect's sex.

2. A female leasing staff member also unfairly takes a prospect's sex into account if she waives the fee because of the sex of a prospect.

3. The law prohibits communities from giving a preference to either sex during the application process because you think that members of that sex make better residents.

QUESTION #15

Correct answer: b

Reason: If you choose to run criminal background checks on prospects, you must do so on every prospect or risk a discrimination claim.

QUESTION #16*

Correct answer: b

Reason: It is against federal law for the owner to reject the application based on religion, even if the owner believes other residents would object, or he believes that it would be somehow better for current or prospective residents if he did so.

QUESTION #17

Correct answer: d

Reason: To avoid violating fair housing law based on religion, you should use only nonreligious language when communicating with residents during the holidays. That includes written communications (such as ads), electronic communications (such as your community's Web site), and direct communications.

Wrong answers explained:

1. Mentioning the proximity of your community to the local synagogue in your ad implies a preference for Jewish prospects, which violates fair housing law.

2. Including a Christmas scene with religious-themed music on your community's Web site implies a preference for Christian prospects and residents, which violates fair housing law.

3. Inviting Santa Claus to your community and asking residents' children what they want Santa to bring them for Christmas could offend non-Christian residents, who may accuse you of religious discrimination.

QUESTION #18

Correct answer: c

Reason: Promptly investigate residents' complaints according to your community's fair housing policy. Depending on the results of the investigation, it may be necessary to apologize to the resident and discipline the maintenance worker.

Wrong answers explained:

1. A community may be held liable for sexual harassment if it subjects a resident to severe and pervasive sexual harassment that unreasonably interferes with her use and enjoyment of the premises. Telling one dirty joke may not be enough to create a hostile housing environment, but your investigation could uncover a pattern of behavior that would be enough to establish liability under fair housing law.

2. Even if you don't find the joke to be particularly offensive, your sexual harassment policy should prohibit unprofessional conduct, such as making suggestive comments or dirty jokes.

QUESTION #19

Correct answer c

Reason: You may not treat the applicant differently than other applicants based on your subjective perceptions of the potential problems posed by drug addiction. However, you may check his references, if you do so consistently for all applicants. If the reference check reveals objective evidence showing that he had posed a direct threat to persons or property in the recent past and the direct threat had not been eliminated, then you may reject his application.

Wrong answers explained:

1. Fair housing law protects individuals who are recovering from substance abuse, so you may not reject the application based solely on information that his current address is a drug treatment program.

2. The FHA protects individuals with a history of drug addiction, but it specifically excludes individuals who are currently using illegal drugs.

QUESTION #20*

Correct answer: b

Reason: It is a violation of federal fair housing protections based on disability to reject an applicant based on mental illness unless he is a direct threat to the health or safety of others or he currently uses illegal drugs.

QUESTION #21

Correct answer: b

Reason: Even though there are unassigned spaces near her unit, you must make an exception to your policy of not providing assigned parking spaces to accommodate this resident. The FHA requires communities to make reasonable accommodations to rules, policies, practices, or services when the accommodations may be necessary to afford persons with disabilities an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.

QUESTION #22

Correct answer: c

Reason: As a general rule, part of accommodating a resident with a disability is to waive any pet fees or deposits you have with regard to service animals.

Wrong answers explained:

1. You don't have to waive the pet deposit for everyone just because you waive the fee for this resident. Fair housing law generally requires communities to apply their policies consistently, but the FHA requires communities to make exceptions to policies as a reasonable accommodation if necessary to enable a resident with a disability to use and enjoy their unit.

2. The pet deposit charged to residents is in return for letting them keep pets in their units. The resident needs to keep a service animal—not a pet—in his unit, so the community can't charge the resident even a reduced pet deposit for his guide dog.

QUESTION #23

Correct answer: a

Reason: You may deny the resident's request. Because you do not provide residents with transportation or shopping services, granting his request would require a fundamental alteration in the nature of your community's operations. If faced with such a request, however, HUD advises communities to discuss whether there are any alternative accommodations that would effectively meet the resident's disability-related needs without fundamentally altering your operations.

QUESTION #24*

Correct answer: b

Reason: It is illegal for an owner to prohibit a wheelchair ramp from being constructed on the property. According to HUD, an owner may not refuse to let a resident with a disability make reasonable modifications to the housing unit or common use areas at the resident's expense if such modifications are necessary for the resident with a disability to use the housing. Where reasonable, an owner may permit changes only if the resident agrees to restore the property to its original condition when he or she moves.

QUESTION #25

Correct answer: b

Reason: Anyone, not only prospects who file applications and ultimately rent units at your community, may file a fair housing complaint. You must keep records of every prospect who comes into or calls the leasing office.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Regardless of your score, you've taken a big step toward preventing fair housing trouble. If you did well—it means that your fair housing training has paid off. If you didn't—it may be time to beef up your fair housing training efforts.

Editor's Note: Go back and double-check your answers to Questions 5, 10, 13, 16, 20, and 24 (marked with *), which are based on questions related to rental housing from a 2001 HUD-sponsored survey.

Among other things, the survey tested how much Americans knew about fair housing. It was repeated in 2005 to see how much had changed in light of HUD's public awareness efforts. The survey, which also included questions regarding home sales and mortgages, asked Americans about various scenarios, eight of which were unlawful under the FHA. According to the 2006 report, there was little change in public understanding of fair housing law—with roughly half of Americans recognizing six of the eight unlawful scenario depictions.

How well you answered these six basic fair housing questions is a good measure of the effectiveness of your fair housing program—and how quickly you must respond with improved training to ward off being hit with a fair housing complaint.

The 2006 report, “Do We Know More Now? Trends in Public Knowledge, Support, and Use of Fair Housing Law,” is available at www.huduser.org/publications/hsgfin/FairHsngSurvey.html.