COACH's Pop Quiz!

Q: A resident keeps calling about the status of a reasonable accommodation request she just submitted. The last time, she got nasty, calling you names and threatening to sue you if you don’t give her what she wants. Try as you might, you lost your patience and said that you don’t think she’s disabled anyway—and that she might be better off living somewhere else. You could be accused of a fair housing violation because of your off-hand remark. True or false?

A: True. It can get frustrating when dealing with residents—particularly if they’re starting to get nasty—but it’s important to keep your cool. If you lose your temper, you might say something that you later regret and make matters worse by triggering a fair housing complaint for making discriminatory statements.

For more on how to comply with fair housing rules banning discriminatory statements, see the Coach’s August lesson, available to subscribers here.