August 2016 COACH's Quiz
We’ve given you five rules for avoiding fair housing trouble when dealing with families with children. Now let’s look at how the rules might apply in the real world. Take the Coach’s Quiz to see what you have learned.
INSTRUCTIONS: Each of the following questions has only one correct answer. On a separate piece of paper, write down the number of each question, followed by the answer you think is correct—for example, (1) b, (2) a, and so on. The correct answers (with explanations) follow the quiz. Good luck!
QUESTION #1
Recently, your community has received a number of inquiries about the availability of housing for older people, so you want to dedicate buildings at the community as senior housing. Fair housing law allows you to reserve those areas for prospects 55 or older and not allow anyone under 55 to live there. True or false?
a. True.
b. False.
QUESTION #2
A couple with two young children come to your office. They tell you that they’re looking for a two-bedroom unit and ask about the distance to the local elementary school. You tell them about your available units, but you advise them that they would be happier living somewhere closer to the school. Since you have only the family’s best interests at heart, you haven’t violated fair housing law. True or false?
a. True.
b. False.
QUESTION #3
A community may not be found liable for housing discrimination if it limits occupancy to two people per bedroom. True or false?
a. True.
b. False.
QUESTION #4
You’ve received a number of complaints about noisy children playing outside, but you could face a fair housing complaint if you enforce a policy requiring adult supervision for all outdoor activities for children under 12. True or false?
a. True.
b. False.
COACH’S ANSWERS & EXPLANATIONS
QUESTION #1
Correct answer: b
Reason: Rules #1 & #2 apply here:
Rule #1: Don’t Deny Housing to Families with Children
Rule #2: Don’t Restrict Where Families Can Live at the Community
Fair housing law does not allow you to declare only a portion of your community as senior housing, so you can’t prohibit families with children from living in those parts of your community. If you declare certain buildings off-limits to anyone younger than 55, you could trigger a fair housing complaint for steering families with children away from those units.
QUESTION #2
Correct answer: b
Reason: Rules #1 & #2 apply here:
Rule #1: Don’t Deny Housing to Families with Children
Rule #2: Don’t Restrict Where Families Can Live at the Community
Even though you told them about the units available in your community, fair housing law bars communities from discouraging families with children from living in the community, regardless of your motives. Even if you believe the family would be happier if they lived closer to the local elementary school, the FHA prohibits “steering,” which includes discouraging prospects to live at your community because of their familial status.
QUESTION #3
Correct answer: b
Reason: Rule #3 applies here:
Rule #3: Don’t Restrict How Families Want to Live
The two-person per bedroom standard is only a general guideline to determine whether a community’s occupancy standards are reasonable under federal fair housing law. Communities may have to allow more than two people per bedroom based on applicable state or local occupancy standards. In addition, HUD says that the general rule may not be reasonable in a particular case based on the size or configuration of the unit, size of the bedrooms, or other factors.
QUESTION #4
Correct answer: a
Reason: Rule #4 applies here.
Rule #4: Don’t Make Kid-Unfriendly Rules
You can take steps to address the noise complaints, but you could trigger a claim of discrimination based on familial status for enforcing rules that unreasonably interfere with the ability of families with children to live in the community and treat families with children less favorably than adult households living at the community.
See The Lesson For This Quiz
| Play by the Rules When It Comes to Kids and Their Families |