Coach’s Pop Quiz: Can Requiring Kids to Use the Kiddie Pool Get You in Hot Water?

Q: Requiring children at your rental property to use a separate kiddie pool and stay out of the main pool is okay:

a.         If the kiddie pool is at least as nice and conveniently located as the main pool

b.         If, unlike the main pool, the kiddie pool is at all points too shallow for a child to drown

c.          If adult tenants specifically ask you to exclude kids from the main pool

d.         Under no circumstances

Scroll down for Answer …

Correct answer: d 

Although children aren’t listed as a protected class under the Fair Housing Act, excluding children from the pool or other common use amenity is a form of discrimination against families with children. And while segregation might keep kids from drowning, there are less restrictive ways that a landlord could accomplish that legitimate safety purpose. So, d. is the correct answer.

Wrong answers explained: 

a. is wrong because segregation isn’t allowed even if the kiddie pool is just as nice and convenient as the main pool. As in other aspects of public life governed by civil rights laws, the notion of “separate but equal” is unacceptable in housing regardless of whether it’s based on race, religion, family status, or any other protected characteristic. 

b. is wrong because restricting kids to a uniformly shallow pool isn’t the only or least restrictive way to prevent drownings. The landlord could accomplish the same objective by letting children use the main pool and implementing ground rules to ensure they do so safely. 

c. is wrong because you’re not allowed to commit discrimination against families with children or any other protected class just because your tenants ask you to do so. 

For more guidance on drafting sound rules for using amenities at your property, see our May lesson, “Avoid 8 Discrimination Pitfalls When Setting Rules for Common Use Amenities,” available to premium subscribers here.