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Q: A community may not be found liable for housing discrimination for applying occupancy standards limiting all units to two people per bedroom. True or false?
Fair Housing Coach spoke with Lynn N. Dover, Partner, Kimball, Tirey & St. John LLP, to get answers to subscribers’ top fair housing questions during the COVID crisis, including: Is someone with coronavirus symptoms considered disabled? What “reasonable accommodations” might we have to make for residents with the virus? Can we refuse to show prospects available units? How do we alert all of our residents if one of their ne...
Q: Your community has a “no pets” policy. Recently, you discovered that a resident has a cat in her unit, but she said that she’s disabled and it’s an emotional support animal. It seems like she’s just trying to keep her pet cat, but you can get into fair housing trouble ...
Q: After getting complaints from neighbors about noxious odors emanating from a particular unit, you discover that a resident has stacks of newspapers obstructing doors and windows, dirty dishes and open food containers, and piles of clothing and other debris strewn throughout his unit. Although the resident claims that he has a disability, you may refuse his request for an extended deadline to remedy the unsanitary ...
New York Attorney General Letitia James recently announced the launch of a new online complaint portal for New Yorkers to report instances of housing discrimination based on source of income. A new law, which took effect in April 2019, makes it illegal to deny someone housing based on the type of lawful income she receives and applies to nearly all types of housing in New York State.
Q: It’s illegal to refuse to rent to any minority prospects, but not to bend the truth about available units when they ask about vacancies. True or false?
The New York City Commission on Human Rights recently released new legal enforcement guidance that defines discrimination on the basis of perceived or actual immigration status and national origin under the New York City Human Rights Law in public accommodations, employment, and housing.
Discrimination on the basis of immigration status and national origin have been illegal in New York City for decades. The guidance reaffirms these protections and provides specifi...
Q: Your office has been shorthanded for a while, but you’ve just hired a new employee to answer phones in the leasing office. Even though he’s got previous experience working at another community, you should make sure that he learns the basics about fair housing law even before allowing him to answer the phones. True or false?
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