June 2026 Coach’s Quiz

QUESTIONS

1. Several years ago, a resident filed a fair housing complaint against your property, but the case was dismissed. Lately, she has repeatedly failed to pay her rent in full or on time, but you can’t evict her because of her prior discrimination complaint. True or false?.
   • True
   • False
   Show Answer

   Answer: b

   Reason: False. You don’t have to tolerate a resident’s serious lease violations just because she has filed a prior discrimination complaint against your property. She could file a retaliation claim, but to win, she would have to prove that you evicted her because of her prior fair housing complaint. Since it’s been years since she filed that complaint, you should be able to fend off a retaliation claim as long as you can prove that you had a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for evicting her—and didn’t single her out to get back at her.

2. A tenant who uses a walker wants to transfer to an apartment on the ground floor near his assigned parking space to minimize how far he must walk to his car. Unfortunately, there’s currently no apartment available that fits his needs. What should you do?
   • Flatly reject his accommodations request.
   • Consider moving his parking space closer to his apartment instead.
   • Request documentation of the disability and why he needs to transfer to accommodate it.
   Show Answer

   Answer: b

   Reason: You must grant a transfer request as a reasonable accommodation if the tenant is really disabled, the transfer is necessary to enable him to use and enjoy the property, and the accommodation is reasonable. The request for relocation to a unit closer to a disabled tenant’s assigned parking space in this scenario meets the first two prongs; the problem is that there are no suitable units available. And since you don’t have to actually evict or transfer one tenant to accommodate another, the requested accommodation isn’t reasonable. However, you’re not done yet. Before flat out nixing the transfer, you must explore alternative ways to accommodate the tenant’s disability. And that means b. is the right answer.

   Wrong answers explained:

   a. While lack of an available apartment on the ground floor closer to the tenant’s parking space is grounds for rejecting the transfer, you shouldn’t hit the REJECT button unless and until you consider the availability of reasonable alternatives. The first thing to consider would be assigning him a new parking space that would be closer to his current apartment. If there are currently no such spaces available, you may want to ask—but you wouldn’t have to force—a tenant with a suitable parking space to swap.

   c. You can ask tenants who request reasonable accommodations for documentation of their disability and need for the accommodation, but only if those things are not obvious or readily apparent. The reason c. is wrong is that in this case, it’s pretty obvious that a tenant who uses a walker has a disability requiring that he be closer to his parking space.

3. If your state does not ban discrimination based on source of income, then you are free to refuse to accept Section 8 housing vouchers. True or false?
   • True
   • False
   Show Answer

   Answer: b

   Reason: Though your state might not ban discrimination based on source of income, or its ban might not specifically cover public and private housing assistance, including Section 8 housing vouchers, your city or county might. Or your property might be subject to federal requirements under certain types of financing. So don’t reject an applicant who has a voucher until you check with your attorney to get the details of all the laws applicable to your property.

4. Your property allows pets, but they can’t be more than 20 pounds. If a disabled tenant says she needs a larger dog as an assistance animal, then you should consider making an exception to the weight restriction as a reasonable accommodation. True or false?
   • True
   • False
   Show Answer

   Answer: a

   Reason: True. Under fair housing law, landlords must consider a request for an exception to pet policies, including size or weight restrictions, as a reasonable accommodation when necessary to allow an individual with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy the property.