The Fair Housing Act requires that private lawsuits brought under 42 U.S.C. §3613 be filed within two years “after the occurrence or the termination of an alleged discriminatory housing practice.” Courts are not in universal agreement about what this means when applied to a failure to design or build apartments according to the standards in 42 U.S.C. §36014(f)(3)(C), so a developer or owner’s defense in a design/build case may depend on where the apartments are located. How can a national statute have regional variations? Well, somebody’s wrong. Here’s a brief “guide for perplexed.”
Fair Housing Act
Shoot the messenger! Agent liability under the Fair Housing Act
By Richard Hunt in Accessibility Litigation Trends, FHA Emotional Support Animals, FHA indemnity contribution, FHA Reasonable Accommodation, Landlord-tenant Tags: disability discrimination, Fair Housing Act, reasonable accommodation, Reasonable modification, service dog, Sothby's
A brand new decision from Northern California, Hintz v. Chase, 17-CV-02198-JCS, 2017 WL 3421979 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 9, 2017) reminds both property owners and sales or leasing agents that no one can escape responsibility for making the right decision in cases under the Fair Housing Act. This is an especially important reminder for those in the market for single family residences unacquainted with the subtleties of disability discrimination and the notion of reasonable accommodation and modification. More
Animal Accommodations under the FHA – Get it right the first time.
By Richard Hunt in FHA, FHA Emotional Support Animals, FHA Reasonable Accommodation, Landlord-tenant Tags: Emotional Support Animals, Fair Housing Act, HUD, Pit Bull, reasonable accommodation
A decision from the Western District of Texas should remind landlords that the world of FHA litigation is unforgiving and expensive, so the best thing is to get it right the first time. Reading it has prompted us to re-offer our webinar on dealing with accommodation requests involving animals later this month and next. Details appear at the end of this blog.
Chavez v Aber, 122 F.Supp.3d 581 (W.D. Tex. 2015) involved a child with a mixed breed pit-bull as an emotional support animal. There was no question about the child’s psychiatric disability or the fact that the child’s doctor recommended the dog for therapeutic purposes, so the only legal question was whether to dog had to be accommodated despite a “no pets” policy and the fact that pit-bulls are regarded as a dangerous breed. That did not mean the case was simple. As the court pointed out more than once, cases involving accommodation depend very much on the facts. More
Maybe a CO does mean something – rediscovering a safe harbor under the FHA.
By Richard Hunt in Accessibility Litigation Trends, Building Codes, Design Build Discrimination Tags: ANSI A117.1, Fair Housing Act, FHA, Judge Richard Leon, safe harbor
In a March 27, 2017 ruling Judge Richard Leon of the D.C. Circuit found a safe harbor in the Fair Housing Act that I haven’t seen referred to in any earlier published opinion. See, U.S. v. Mid-America Apt. Communities, Inc., 2017 WL 1154944 (D.D.C. Mar. 27, 2017). In the defense of FHA design / build cases the emphasis is usually on the statutory safe harbor in 42 U.S.C. §3604(f)(4), the ANSI A117.1 standard, or in one of the similar safe harbors recognized by HUD in 24 CFR §100.205(e). However, there is also safe harbor language in 42 U.S.C. §3604(f)(5), which provides that:
(5)(A) If a State or unit of general local government has incorporated into its laws the requirements set forth in paragraph (3)(C), compliance with such laws shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements of that paragraph.
and
(B) A State or unit of general local government may review and approve newly constructed covered multifamily dwellings for the purpose of making determinations as to whether the design and construction requirements of paragraph (3)(C) are met. More