Is It Legal to Require Applicants to Produce Their Children’s Report Cards?

No, says the Fair Housing Center of the Greater Palm Beaches, Inc., which recently sued two Florida homeowner associations and two property management companies for discrimination on the basis of familial status.

According to the complaint, the community’s policies and practices violate fair housing law by unnecessarily and unjustly imposing burdensome requirements and restrictions on families with children. The lawsuit alleges that the community uses rental applications that require prospects to submit report cards for persons under 18 and imposes a sundown curfew on persons under 18, requiring them to be inside or on their patios after sundown.

“Parents should not be required to provide a report card for their children in order to obtain housing, nor should a homeowner’s association dictate whether your children and/or individuals under the age of 18 can be outside after dark,” Vince Larkins, the Center’s President & CEO, said in a statement.

Source: Fair Housing Center of the Greater Palm Beaches, Inc.