Glenn S. Demby

With students heading back to school, the Coach is dedicating this month’s lesson to helping you recognize and avoid the liability risks of dealing with students. First, we’ll explain how fair housing laws apply to students even if this group isn’t listed as a protected class. Then, we’ll set out seven common pitfalls landlords fall into when dealing with student renters and what you should do to avoid them.

Here’s how to guard against three common scenarios that can leave you in the lurch.

Many if not most of the over 30,000 discrimination complaints filed against landlords in America each year involve alleged wrongdoing by a leasing agent, property manager, maintenance person, or other frontline staffer. That's why training staff to comply with fair housing laws is essential to minimizing risks of liability for discrimination.