discrimination: What is a “Reasonable Modification” for Purposes of the Fair Housing Act?
- 02/10/09 10:58 PM
A reasonable modification is a physical/structural change made to a resident’s living space or to the common areas of a community, which is necessary to enable a resident with a disability to have full enjoyment of the housing. Reasonable modifications can include structural changes to interiors and exteriors of dwellings and to common and public use areas. A request for a reasonable modification may be made at any time during the tenancy. The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful for a housing provider or homeowners’ association to refuse to allow a reasonable modification to the premises when such a modification may (0 comments)
discrimination: What is a “Reasonable Accommodation” for Purposes of the Fair Housing Act?
- 02/10/09 10:51 PM
Under the Fair Hosing Act, a “reasonable accommodation” is a change, exception, or adjustment to a rule, policy, practice, or service that may be necessary for a person with a disability to have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling, including public and common use spaces. Since rules, policies, practices, and services may have a different effect on persons with disabilities than on other persons, treating persons with disabilities exactly the same as others will sometimes deny them an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling. The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to refuse to make reasonable (0 comments)
discrimination: How a Housing Provider Can Determine if an Individual Poses a “Direct Threat” under the Fair Housing Act
- 02/10/09 02:09 AM
Every real estate professional should already know that the federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin and disability. What many people do not realize, though, is that the Act does not protect an individual with a disability whose tenancy would constitute a “direct threat” to the health or safety of other individuals or result in substantial physical damage to the property of others unless the threat can be eliminated or significantly reduced by reasonable accommodation. So, how can a housing provider determine if an individual poses a “direct (0 comments)
discrimination: A Few Examples of Illegal Housing Practices Against Persons with Disabilities Under the Fair Housing Act
- 02/10/09 01:45 AM
Here is a little reminder for everyone about their obligations under the Fair Housing act with respect to people with disabilities. The following are a few examples of illegal housing practices against persons with disabilities under the Fair Housing Act: Refusing to rent or sell or otherwise making unavailable to an individual with a disability a dwelling unit, because of the buyer’s or renter’s disability; Imposing different terms and conditions on the sale or rental of a dwelling unit due to the buyer’s or renter’s disability; Coercing, intimidating or threatening a person for exercising his or her rights under the Fair (2 comments)
discrimination: Types of Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities Prohibited by the Fair Housing Act
- 02/10/09 01:35 AM
The goal of the Fair Housing Act is to ensure “no person shall be subjected to discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin in the sale, rental or advertising of dwellings, in the provision of brokerage services, or in the availability of residential real-estate related transactions.” With respect to people with disabilities, the Act serves to: Give people with disabilities opportunities to choose where they want to live; Assure that reasonable accommodations and reasonable modifications are made so that a person with a disability can secure and use housing as fully as a person without (2 comments)
discrimination: Disability Laws that Apply to Housing in Michigan
- 02/08/09 07:53 AM
The following disability-related laws apply to housing in Michigan: Fair Housing Act: The federal Fair Housing Act (Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, which became effective March 12, 1989) prohibits sellers or people in the real estate industry from discriminating against people because of their disability or the disability of anyone associated with them. The laws also include accessibility design and construction requirements for multifamily housing. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973: Section 504 prohibits discrimination based on disability in any housing, program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. Americans with Disabilities Act: In most cases, the ADA does (0 comments)
discrimination: Discrimination in Housing Based Upon Sex, Including Sexual Harassment
- 02/07/09 10:38 PM
Every real estate professional should already know that the Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to discriminate in housing on the basis of sex. What many real estate professionals do not realize, however, is that that includes sexual harassment. In recent years, the United States Department of Justice ("DOJ") has been looking more closely at sexual harassment in housing in its Fair Housing enforcement efforts. Women, particularly those who are poor, and with limited housing options, often have little recourse but to tolerate the humiliation and degradation of sexual harassment or risk having their families and themselves removed from their homes. (0 comments)
discrimination: US Department of Justice Settles Fair Housing Act Case Brought Against Owners and Operators of Michigan Apartment Complex for $50,000
- 02/06/09 01:36 AM
I was in the process of updating the online fair housing continuing education courses offered by my school (www.123ConEd.com), when I came across this recent Fair Housing Act case. Because Fair Housing is such an important topic, I thought that I'd post a summary of this case. On January 18, 2007, the United States Department of Justice settled a fair housing retaliation case against the owners, operators and managers of Fairway Trails Apartments, an apartment complex located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The case was brought under the Fair Housing Act against Nicole Morbach (property manager), Benchmark Management Corporation (management company), Benchmark Michigan (0 comments)
discrimination: Fair Housing Testing Program
- 02/05/09 07:45 AM
As a real estate professional, you need to be aware that there are "secret shoppers" scouting open houses and rental vacancies trying to catch real estate agents in a fair housing violation. Those "secret shoppers" are fair housing testers. Fair housing testing is an invaluable tool used in measuring the practices of housing providers relating to the Fair Housing Act. Some unlawful housing discrimination practices can only be discovered through fair housing testing. Information gathered through fair housing testing can be used as evidence to support a client's administrative housing discrimination complaint with the Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD") (0 comments)
discrimination: Justice Department Settles Lawsuit with Landlord Alleging Discrimination Against Families with Children for $145,000
- 02/02/09 10:40 AM
I was in the process of updating the online fair housing continuing education courses offered by my school (www.123ConEd.com), when I came across this recent Fair Housing Act case. Although this case was filed in Louisiana and not in Michigan, the case is still instructive for Michigan real estate professionals because it was brought under the federal Fair Housing Act, which applies equally in all states. Because Fair Housing is such an important topic, I thought that I'd post a summary of this recent case. On September 30, 2008, the United States Department of Justice settled a fair housing lawsuit for (3 comments)
discrimination: Justice Department Resolves Lawsuit Alleging Race Discrimination at Roseville, Michigan, Apartment Complex for $170,000
- 02/02/09 06:27 AM
I was in the process of updating the online fair housing continuing education courses offered by my school (www.123ConEd.com), when I came across this recent Michigan Fair Housing Act case. Because Fair Housing is such an important topic, I thought that I'd post a summary of this recent case. In late November 2008, the United States Department of Justice settled a fair housing lawsuit for $170,000 against the owners and managers of Regent Court Apartments in Roseville, Michigan. The lawsuit alleged that the owners and managers had discriminated against African-Americans who were seeking to rent apartments at the complex. Specifically, the (2 comments)
discrimination: New Michigan Fair Housing Lawsuit Filed in Federal Court
- 02/02/09 05:53 AM
I was in the process of updating the online fair housing continuing education courses offered by my school (www.123ConEd.com), when I came across this recent Michigan Fair Housing Act case. Because Fair Housing is such an important topic I thought that I'd post a summary of this recent case, which was just filed in court four days ago. On January 29, 2009, the United States Department of Justice filed a new fair housing lawsuit against two Ypsilanti, Michigan, landlords for sexual harassment. The suit was filed against Ronald D. Peterson and Glen E. Johnson, the owner and rental manager, respectively, of (2 comments)