Illegal immigration is a touchy and politically charged subject. It’s also an issue that many landlords in America need to address on a daily basis. There are approximately 11.5 million undocumented aliens living in this country, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. Because the vast...
We’ve explained how seemingly neutral rules designed to prevent overcrowding and unsafe and unsanitary conditions can get you into fair housing law hot water. We’ve also described the major liability risks and what you should do to avoid them when developing and enforcing occupancy...
We’ll tell you what happened in each case—and how it may impact your property.
Most of you are pretty familiar with what the fair housing laws require. But it’s in the court rooms and administrative tribunals where the broad rules and principles of fair...
You catch two tenants smoking pot in the clubhouse in violation of your community’s anti-drug policies. Tenant A has a valid prescription from a physician to use marijuana to treat his post-traumatic stress disorder; Tenant B is just a...
Tenants who abuse drugs and alcohol may be endangering not only themselves but also their neighbors. Tenant substance abuse can result in criminal activity, violence, fires, disturbances, and other threats to apartment community health, safety, and tranquility. But, from a legal standpoint,...
Because enforcement is so active and penalties are so high, it’s easy to forget that complying with the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) may not be enough to insulate your community from liability. That’s because most states (and many municipalities) have adopted their own fair housing...
Now that we’ve explained the eight common forms of discrimination banned by state and local fair housing laws, let’s see how well you learned the material. Take the Coach’s Quiz below to see if you can apply the rules to real-life situations. Each question has one and...
Now it’s your turn to apply the rules for avoiding liability under the FHA and other laws protecting victims of domestic violence and evaluate how well you’ve learned the material. Take the Coach’s Quiz below. Each question has one and only one correct answer. ...
Look at your watch and count off 60 seconds. If the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) averages hold true, by the time you’re done, 20 people in the U.S. will have suffered physical abuse at the hands of an intimate partner. What people do to each other in their own homes is directly...
