Cases and Settlements

HUD: Kids Forced to Clean Toilets for Playing Outside

October 30, 2014    

HUD recently announced action in two fair housing cases against communities for allegedly enforcing overly restrictive rules on children playing outside. In one case, HUD claimed that children were forced to clean the manager’s office toilet when they were found outside unaccompanied by an...

Disparate Impact Back on Supreme Court Docket

October 30, 2014    

For the third time in recent years, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether the Fair Housing Act bans discrimination based on disparate impact—that is, practices that have a discriminatory effect on members of a protected class, even if there’s no intentional...

Community Pays $550,000 to Settle Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

September 24, 2014    

The owners and operators of a Michigan community recently agreed to pay $550,000 and to terminate its property manager to settle a lawsuit for sexual harassment in violation of fair housing law.

The Justice Department filed the complaint, accusing the former manager of sexually harassing...

City Agrees to $495,000 Settlement in Domestic Violence Case

September 24, 2014    

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) recently announced a settlement in its lawsuit against the city of Norristown, Pa., challenging a municipal ordinance that allegedly punished domestic violence victims and their landlords for requesting police assistance.

The ACLU filed the...

Cleveland Community Pays $100K to Settle Discrimination Case

September 24, 2014    

The manager and owner of a Cleveland community recently agreed to pay $100,000 to resolve allegations that they violated federal fair housing law by refusing to rent units at the 205-unit complex to families with children.

Kent State Charged with Housing Discrimination

August 25, 2014    

Earlier this month, HUD charged Kent State University and four of its employees with housing discrimination for allegedly refusing to allow a student with disabilities to keep an emotional support animal in her campus apartment.

The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to refuse to make...

Domestic Violence Victim Gets Settlement in N.H. Housing Discrimination Case

August 25, 2014    

The owners and managers of two New Hampshire communities recently agreed to settle allegations that they engaged in housing discrimination by refusing to rent to a woman who was a victim of domestic violence.

Community Settles Claims Its Rules Restricted Children’s Outdoor Play

August 25, 2014    

The owners and operators of a California community recently agreed to pay $80,000 to settle allegations that its rules discriminated against families with children in violation of the Fair Housing Act.

The lawsuit arose from HUD complaints filed by five families who lived at the 37-unit...

Condo Community Pays $10K to Settle Disability-Related Parking Dispute

August 25, 2014    

An administrative judge in Maryland recently ruled that a condominium community violated state fair housing law by denying a resident’s request for a reserved parking space as a reasonable accommodation for her disability, according to the Maryland Civil Rights Commission.

Brokers Pay $24K to Settle Discriminatory Ad Claims

July 24, 2014    

Two realty companies and a broker in Connecticut recently agreed to pay $24,000 to settle allegations that they published discriminatory listings and advertisements for condominiums specifying that children were not permitted.

Federal fair housing law makes it unlawful to refuse to sell...

New Orleans Community Accused of Discriminating Against Deaf Prospects

July 24, 2014    

The Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC) recently sued the owner of a New Orleans community for alleged discrimination against deaf individuals seeking to rent apartments based on the results of a fair housing investigation last year.

Philly Real Estate Company to Pay $25K to Resolve Racial Steering Allegations

July 24, 2014    

A Philadelphia-area real estate company recently agreed to a $25,000 settlement to resolve allegations that employees steered white testers posing as rental applicants to neighborhoods they described as safer, while directing black testers to areas agents considered “rough.”

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