Charles Brown
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Wheeling and Dealing Within the Confines of the Fair Housing Act
Driving around Austin, I notice that almost every apartment community I pass has an advertising banner that promotes some sort of “special” to attract tenants. There is nothing wrong with offering these specials such as “First Month Free” or “No Move-in Costs.” However, if not done properly, offering specials could create a risk of a discrimination claim under the Fair Housing Act.The Fair Housing Act says that you cannot discriminate against people in the “protected classes.” Under the Fair Housing Act, race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status or handicap are the “protected classes.”So how could offering specials be…
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Responding to the Fair Housing Complaint
Sooner or later it may happen. A tenant will file a complaint against your apartment community claiming you have violated the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against them. A disgruntled former tenant, as their parting shot at you, will most likely make the complaint. After all, it doesn’t cost anything for them to file the complaint, it is sure to cause you aggravation, and there is no penalty if they “lose”.If someone files a Fair Housing Complaint against you in Austin, the Austin Human Rights Commission (“AHRC”) will investigate the complaint. The Texas Commission on Human Rights will likely investigate…
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Reasonable Modification and Accomodation
Fair housing laws prohibit discrimination against people based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status or handicap (the “protected classes”). There are two types of unlawful discrimination that apply only to people who are handicapped : (1) Failure to make a reasonable accommodation; and (2) Failure to make reasonable modifications.Reasonable Modifications. You are required to permit a person with a disability to make modifications to your existing premises if:1. The existing premises are occupied or are to be occupied by a person who is handicapped.2. The person offers to pay for the modification.3. The modifications are necessary to…
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Reasonable Accomodation for Caregivers
Apartment owner has the following problem: Owner’s policy is that all tenants and adult occupants listed on the Lease must meet certain financial criteria. One tenant (“Mom”) wanted her adult son (“Son”) to move in with her. Son did not meet the financial criteria and his application was refused. Mom tells apartment owner that she (Mom) is disabled and needs her son to move in with her to help care for her – like a live-in aide. Owner wants to know if they have to allow Son to move in with Mom even though Son would not otherwise be allowed…
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Prepare to Defend
Is your apartment community ready to respond to a fair housing complaint? Sure, you would be able to reply with my six-year-old’s favorite “liar, liar, pants on fire” defense. Or maybe you could use my four-year-old’s favorite – a forceful “did not!” accompanied by a stern look. But do you wonder whether you can you back up these defenses? If a fair housing investigator inspected your property today, would they have an overwhelming impression that your community complies with the spirit and letter of the fair housing laws?Never mind that the burden of proof is on the person making the…
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Occupancy Standards – Time to Review Your Policy
If you have not reviewed and modified your occupancy standards in the last year, you may be in violation of the fair housing laws.What do occupancy standards have to do with fair housing laws? Occupancy standards may be a violation of the fair housing laws if they unfairly limit the housing options because of familial status . The fair housing laws make it unlawful to discriminate against persons based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status or national origin. Of these “protected classes,” “familial status” is the class to be concerned with in establishing your occupancy standards. Any policy that…
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Mental Illness and Fair Housing Laws – They Don’t Mix Easily
The manager of an apartment community called me recently, and our conversation went something like this:Manager: One of our residents is acting very strangely and I’m not sure what to do about it. He sends notes to the management office complaining about other residents yelling at him all night long. He told me he was tired of my staff coming into his apartment when he was not home and destroying the faxes the FBI was sending to him before he could read them. His neighbors are complaining because he has called the police and reported that they have been harassing…
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Good News for Apartment Owners from the Supreme Court
Most of you apartment owners out there own your property in some type of legal entity such as a Limited Partnership (“LP”), Limited Liability Company (LLC) or a Corporation. The most common form of ownership of apartments that I see in Texas is a Limited Partnership that has a corporation or an LLC as its general partner. However, for the purposes of this article and simplicity sake, let’s say that you formed a corporation that owns your apartment property and you are the president, director and sole shareholder of the corporation. What liability do you have personally if an employee…
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Fair Housing Q&A
Q. Are race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status and handicap the only protected classes?A. These seven categories are the only protected classes under the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988. However, many state and local governments often have their own laws and ordinances making housing discrimination illegal, and may include categories in addition to the ones protected by the federal law. For instance, a city’s ordinance may prohibit discrimination on the basis of marital status. If you refused to rent an apartment to two people of the opposite sex who are not married, but will rent to two…
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Do I Have to Lease to This Jerk?
As an attorney, I represent property management companies and provide legal advice to apartment managers. Periodically, I have a conversation with a client that goes something like this:Manager: This guy came in this week and applied for an apartment. He is really obnoxious and I get “bad vibes” from him. Do I have to lease to him?Me: Why does he give you “bad vibes”?Manager: He has called every two hours to see if his application has been approved. Then, he puts me on hold every time he gets another call on his call waiting. He yelled at me when I…
