FHA Defense
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HUD’s radical change of position on ESA’s
On May 23, 2026, HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity announced a dramatic change in HUD’s view of accommodation requests for emotional support animals.² Stripped of the usual bureaucratic word swamp the point of the announcement is simple. HUD will not find reasonable cause to believe discrimination occurred for any case involving… Continue reading
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Emotional Support Dogs again?
The March 25, 2026 decision from the Connecticut Supreme Court in Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities v Mansions takes a small but significant step toward limiting misuse of the Fair Housing Act as a way to avoid pet deposits or “no pets” rules. For full disclosure purposes, I represented the winning landlord throughout… Continue reading
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What the ADA and FHA are all about.
On December 5 (2025) I argued a fair housing case before the Connecticut Supreme Court. The details are important, but not for this blog. I say that because during the argument it occurred to me that it is easy, while cataloging and describing all the trees in the forest to forget that it is a… Continue reading
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FHA tester standing – the beginning of the beginning of the end?
Even after the Supreme Court’s decision in Transunion¹ and the Fifth Circuit’s decision in Laufer v Mann Hospitality,² challenging the standing of a Fair Housing Act tester in Texas has been a hit or miss proposition depending very much on which District Judge decided the case. It has been quite possible to file almost identical motions to… Continue reading
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HUD was wrong about pet deposits – it’s as simple as that.
I’ve written quite a few times in the last decade about the absurdity of HUD’s position that landlords cannot charge a fee or deposit for an assistance or emotional support animal.¹ HUD’s position has never made sense because asking for the waiver of a fee or deposit is just another kind of accommodation claim that… Continue reading