Multi-Family
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Good news for FHA defendants – accessibility matters more than numbers.
The decision in Miami Valley Fair Hous. Ctr., Inc. v. Preferred Living Real Est. Investments, LLC, 2018 WL 4690790 (S.D. Ohio Sept. 28, 2018) has the potential to create a significant change in how FHA design/build cases are litigated. It also provides litigants with a treatise on the most important evidentiary issues faced by both plaintiffs and defendants. Continue reading
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New or newish? Just what is “first occupancy” under the FHA?
Guidance from HUD and DOJ is nice to have, but ultimately the courts are responsible for deciding what the Fair Housing Act means. In Fair Hous. Rights Ctr. in Se. Pennsylvania v. Post Goldtex GP, LLC, 2016 WL 2865733 (3d Cir. May 17, 2016) the Third Circuit confirmed HUD and DOJ’s position that FHA accessibility standards do not apply Continue reading
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Education v. Litigation – HUD would rather fight than teach.
Today’s press release concerning HUD’s Fair Housing Initiative Program (“FHIP”) says all you need to know about HUD’s approach to eliminating housing discrimination. Out of more than $37 million dollars made available to improve fair housing in this program, HUD is spending about 20% on programs intended to educate the public and business about their Continue reading
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Successor liability under the Fair Housing Act – New Law that Matters
We’ve blogged more than once about the ongoing question of whether a current owner of a property built after the FHA guidelines became effective can be liable under the design/build provisions of the Fair Housing Act. (Click, here, and here). A March 31, 2016 decision from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland Continue reading
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Emotional Support Animals – Just say “NO” to bogus ESA letters.
Apartment owners and managers are familiar with the internet industry providing junk disability letters for pet owners. You only have to go to the web to find a dozen or more places that will sell a letter from some kind of alleged therapist certifying that you are disabled and your pet cat, koala or kangaroo is a Continue reading
