Accommodations, Advertising/Applications, Complaints/Investigations, Eviction, Leasing, Employees/Contractors, Other Issues

October 2021 Coach's Quiz

September 16, 2021    

Now that we’ve explained the eight rules to follow to avoid liability for engaging in retaliation under the FHA, 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...

Fair Housing Retaliation Liability Risks & How to Avoid Them

September 16, 2021    

“Retaliation” is a fancy word for revenge. It’s a nasty action that you take to get back at somebody for doing something bad to you. In the context of fair housing, retaliation means an unfavorable action a landlord takes like rejecting a rental applicant or evicting a tenant...

September 2021 Coach's Quiz

August 24, 2021    

Now that we’ve explained the six rules for avoiding discrimination when renting to students, 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 only one correct answer. On...

Back to School: How to Avoid Fair Housing Trouble When Renting—or Not Renting—to Students

August 24, 2021    

Leasing to students who attend or college or university in your geographic market can be an excellent source of income. At least 79 percent of the students attending a two- or four-year college live off-campus, according to the Urban Institute. In many rental markets, demand for student rental...

August 2021 Coach's Quiz

July 20, 2021    

Now that we’ve explained the seven rules to follow to meet your FHA duty to provide reasonable parking accommodations to disabled applicants and tenants, 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-...

Responding to Requests for Disability-Related Parking Accommodations

July 20, 2021    

Nearly 61 million people in the U.S., roughly one in four of the adult population, have disabilities. Mobility impairment is the most common disability, particularly among those age 65 and older. Leasing to people with disabilities poses fair housing compliance challenges. Simply refraining from...

July 2021 Coach's Quiz

June 15, 2021    

Okay, now it’s your turn. We’ve explained the nine rules to follow to manage the risk of liability for LEP discrimination. Let’s see how well you’ve learned the lesson. Take the Coach’s Quiz below to see if you can apply the rules to real-life situations....

How to Avoid Discriminating Against People with Limited English Proficiency

June 15, 2021    

More than 25 million people in the U.S. have limited ability to speak, understand, write, and read the English language. That’s about 9 percent of the national population. Sadly, people in this “limited English proficiency” (LEP) group frequently get doors slammed in their...

June 2021 Coach's Quiz

May 17, 2021    

We’ve explained why it’s so important to investigate sexual harassment complaints involving tenants. We’ve also pointed out the 10 pitfalls that can cause an investigation to go awry and how to navigate around them. Now it’s your turn to see how well you’ve learned...

10 Pitfalls to Avoid When Responding to a Sexual Harassment Complaint

May 17, 2021    

We all know that it’s illegal for landlords to demand sexual favors or otherwise sexually harass their tenants. But it still happens all the time. And given the inherent imbalance in economic power between landlords and tenants, it’s a problem that’s unlikely to go away any...

May 2021 Coach's Quiz

April 19, 2021    

We’ve explained the risks your community faces for being held liable under fair housing laws if one of your tenants harasses another based on race, sex, religion, and other grounds protected against discrimination. We’ve also outlined the seven things you should include in an anti-...

How to Limit Liability for Tenant-on-Tenant Harassment

April 19, 2021    

While the current law is unsettled, for landlords there’s much more at stake than what the law requires.