December 2017 Coach's Quiz
We’ve given you seven rules on when fair housing law requires you to make exceptions to your general policies. Now let’s look at how the rules might apply in the real world. Take the Coach’s Quiz to see what you’ve 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.
QUESTION #1
Your community has a no-pets policy, but a resident says he’s disabled and that his cat is an emotional support animal. He doesn’t look like he has a disability, so you don’t have to make an exception to your no-pet policy to let him keep the cat. True or false?
a. True.
b. False.
QUESTION #2
Your community has a policy of providing unassigned parking spaces to residents on a first-come, first-served basis. A resident with a mobility impairment asks for you to assign her an accessible parking space close to the entrance to her unit. Since there are available parking spaces near the entrance to her unit that are accessible, you don’t have to grant her request. True or false?
a. True.
b. False.
QUESTION #3
You can’t face liability for violating fair housing law if you apply occupancy standards limiting all units to two people per bedroom. True or false?
a. True.
b. False.
QUESTION #4
Most of your residents are over 55, so you’re allowed to exclude families with children and market your property as an “adult” community under the senior housing exemption. True or false?
a. True.
b. False.
COACH’S ANSWERS & EXPLANATIONS
QUESTION #1
Correct answer: b
Reason: Rule #2 applies here.
RULE #2: You Make the Rules When It Comes to Pets
EXCEPTION: You Can’t Apply Pet Rules to Assistance Animals
Applying standard rules and procedures is important, but you may have to make an exception as a reasonable accommodation if necessary to allow an individual with a disability to use and enjoy use of the home. Don’t be too hasty to deny the request just because the resident doesn’t have an obvious disability. Follow the rules to verify that he has a disability-related need for an exception to your pet policy and keep good records to show that you acted properly in handling his request. And since disputes over assistance animals often lead to fair housing complaints, don’t be afraid to get legal help if you need it.
QUESTION #2
Correct answer: b
Reason: Rule #3 applies here:
RULE #3: You Can Make the Rules About Parking
EXCEPTION: You Must Consider Disability-Related Requests for Special Parking Arrangements
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 the resident. You can’t just tell her to use an existing accessible space because it’s not satisfying her request for an accessible parking spot reserved for her exclusive use. There’s nothing to stop other residents and anyone else from parking there if they have state-issued parking plates or placards issued to drivers with mobility disabilities and entitling them to legally park in parking spaces reserved for people with disabilities.
QUESTION #3
Correct answer: b
Reason: Rule #6 applies here:
RULE #6: You Can Enforce Reasonable Occupancy Standards
EXCEPTION: General Two Person/Bedroom Standard May Not Be Reasonable in Some Circumstances
HUD’s 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: b
Reason: Rule #7 applies here:
RULE #7: You Can’t Refuse to Rent to Families with Children
EXCEPTION: You Can Exclude Children ONLY if You Qualify for Senior Housing Exemption
Even if most of your residents are 55 and older, your community could be accused of denying housing and discriminatory advertising based on familial status. The senior housing exception doesn’t apply unless your community complies with all of the law’s technical requirements.
See The Lesson For This Quiz
| Rules Are Made to Be Broken: How One-Size-Fits-All Policies Can Lead to Fair Housing Trouble |