In place of our usual question-and-answer format, here's a Fair Housing Word Search created by COACH Advisory Board member Nadeen Green. In the box of letters, circle 20 words that are suggested by the hints below. Note: The fact that you find a particular word doesn't necessarily mean that it's an answer to one of the hints! The correct words (with explanations) follow the puzzle. Good luck!
-
This law is often confused with the FHA.
-
While people who have children are protected, people who have these are not.
-
You _______ say “Merry Christmas” in your advertising.
-
The only group that is entitled to reasonable accommodation.
-
The Fair Housing Act is Title ___ of the Civil Rights Act.
-
You can be accused of profiling because of these communications.
-
Discrimination based on these may become protected.
-
The age at which you should allow children to swim without an adult in your pool.
-
A form of mental disability can lead to this difficult-to-manage issue at your community.
-
What animals other than dogs are used as guide animals?
-
The intent to discriminate in housing is legally ______________.
-
This group is currently being considered as the next federally protected class.
-
Do you take prospects out on tour if there is a thunderstorm?
-
What group of employees at your community cannot be sued for FHA violations?
-
This issue is one of the most frequently raised issues in fair housing.
-
The protected class that represents the fewest complaints.
-
They file the most complaints regarding fair housing issues.
-
The number of federally protected classes.
-
You can be accused of linguistic profiling, which is based on __________.
-
When someone from another country asks maintenance workers to put on “booties,” may that request be denied?
-
ADA. The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) generally bars disability discrimination in places that are open to the public, such as your leasing office. Otherwise, communities must comply with the FHA, which provides broader protections for individuals with disabilities than does the ADA.
-
BRATS. Fair housing law prohibits discrimination based on familial status, but that doesn't mean that you can't enforce the rules when children cause property damage or disturb their neighbors.
-
MAY. HUD says that use of secularized symbols—such as Santa Claus—or phrases—such as “Merry Christmas—do not constitute a violation of the FHA.
-
DISABLED. Under the FHA, only individuals with disabilities are entitled to reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services, when necessary to afford them equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.
-
EIGHT. The official name of the Fair Housing Act is Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act.
-
EMAILS. Fair housing testing has homed in on “email profiling—comparing the responses to emails from paired testers, one of whom has a name or email address that suggests he's a member of a racial minority. Often, the tests reveal significant differences in response rates based on the race perceived from the name or address in an email.
-
FELONIES. There's a growing trend to ban housing discrimination against ex-offenders based on their criminal records under state and local fair housing laws.
-
FIFTEEN. Many communities adhere to an industry standard that requires children 14 and under to be accompanied and supervised by an adult when using a pool.
-
HOARDING. Often, a resident engaged in hoarding behavior qualifies as an individual with a disability under fair housing law, triggering your obligation to try to work out a reasonable accommodation to allow him to continue his residency while satisfying safety and health concerns.
-
HORSES. Under new ADA regulations, only dogs are recognized as service animals, but individually trained miniature horses may qualify under certain circumstances.
-
IRRELEVANT. A fair housing complaint may arise from a neutral policy or practice that has a disproportionately ill effect on a protected group, even if there's no intent to discriminate.
-
LGBT. There has been a growing trend among state and local governments to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression, feeding the belief that it may soon be added to federal fair housing law.
-
MAYBE. It depends on your policy about conducting tours. Although not required under fair housing law, the policy should address safety concerns, including weather conditions, when tours will not be conducted. As long as you apply it consistently, the policy should protect you from fair housing trouble for refusing to conduct a tour during a thunderstorm.
-
NONE. Discrimination complaints may be lodged against any employee or agent working on your behalf—including members of your leasing, maintenance, landscaping, and housekeeping staff—who interacts with the public.
-
PARKING. Discrimination based on disability continues to be the largest single category of formal fair housing complaints, and a substantial number are based on disputes over requests for an exception to parking rules as a reasonable accommodation for an individual with a disability.
-
RELIGION. Only 3 percent of formal complaints allege discrimination based on religion, according to HUD's most recent fair housing report.
-
RESIDENTS. Fair housing defense lawyers say that fair housing claims are filed more frequently by residents, as opposed to prospects or applicants.
-
SEVEN. The FHA prohibits discrimination in housing because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability.
-
VOICE. A common form of fair housing testing is to check for “linguistic” profiling—that is, phone calls from paired testers, one of whom sounds like a member of a racial or ethnic minority, to determine if they are treated any differently.
-
YES. Although it may be the norm to remove or cover shoes among members of certain religious, ethnic, or cultural groups, fair housing law imposes no duty to accommodate any group other than individuals with disabilities.
