Apartment Trends Magazine September 2014 | Page 33

ASK THE LAWYER

KRISTI BUNGE | springman braden wilson & pontius, p.c.

Five Things Landlords to Know
About Fair Housing

S

ounds pretty simple if there are just 5
things to advise Landlords about with
regard to fair housing law. Unfortunately there are more than just the 5 items
listed in this article. However, these 5 are an excellent start, and knowing about fair housing will help
lead to understanding what should and should not
be done when renting property. Understanding
fair housing is the best protection against a claim
that a fair housing law has been violated. If you
are an attorney advising a landlord on what to
watch out for, the following items are a good start.

ADVERTISING
Advertising is one of the most common ways
landlords find people to place in rental properties.
When advertising, landlord clients should describe
property attributes and/or amenities, not what they
are or are not looking for in a resident.
Landlords should not say “great for a young
couple” as it may be considered discriminatory to
families with children. Nor should landlords say
“safe” or “exclusive” as this may imply they only rent
to certain groups. At the end of the advertisement,
landlords should use either the fair housing logo
or a disclaimer such as “This community does not
discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion,
national origin, sex, disability or familial status.”
Photographs need to be carefully considered before
use in advertising and only after speaking with an
attorney.

SCREENING/APPLICATIONS
Fair housing claims arise frequently as a result
of the application and screening process. Landlords
should have a written rental policy detailing the
criteria necessary for approval to live in their property. The rental policy should include occupancy
guidelines, availability policy, rental criteria (i.e.
employment history/income, credit standards, etc.)
with an explanation of what the criteria are, an
outline of the application process and that your
client adheres to all applicable fair housing laws.
Questions included on the application should
www.aamdhq.org

not ask about physical or mental disabilities, and
landlords should limit questions about drug/
alcohol use and lawsuits. Asking questions regarding prior evictions, prior
money judgments, bankruptcy and why
prospective residents are leaving their
current landlord are acceptable and may
provide important information. Once a
written policy is created, the landlord should
expect strict adherence and compliance with
the written policy. Additionally, landlords need
to keep good records of each applicant or inquiry. However, if an applicant requests a
deviation from the written policy based on a
disability, the landlord should consult you immediately before making a decision.

OCCUPANCY STANDARDS
In 1996 Congress enacted a law based upon a
1991 HUD memo stating that a 2-person-perbedroom occupancy standard was acceptable in
most situations. This is by no means a hard and fast
rule with regard to the number of occupants for a
particular residence. This figure can change depending on how the property is laid out. More occupants
may be allowed if there are unusually large living
spaces or bedrooms, and fewer occupants if the
opposite holds true. Many fair housing experts
believe that infants do not count when calculating
occupancy standards.

APARTMENT RULES
It is absolutely acceptable for a landlord to have
a set of “house rules” for all residents to live by. The
house rules should be basic and non-discriminatory. Rules should be written so they are applicable to all residents and not just specific groups
of residents.
Rules stating “Children shall not roughhouse
in the hallway” may be discriminatory. Using general terms such as “Residents or guests” should keep
the rule unbiased, fair and applicable to all residents.
Rules must be enforced uniformly against all residents and records regarding rule violations need to

be kept. The records should include the time/date
and manner of the violation, how the landlord
became aware of the violation and what actions
were taken to enforce the rule.
As a special note, pool rules should be carefully scrutinized to insure they do not discriminate
against children. A rule saying “no children under
4 in the pool area” is discriminatory, while a rule
saying “children under 12 must be supervised by
an adult over 18” is likely not discriminatory. As
always, landlords should consult you for specific
state or local laws on these issues as well.

EMPLOYEE TRAINING
Landlords need to ensure that there is a written policy to avoid claims for harassment, particularly sexual harassment. Every time a new employee joins the staff there should be a training
meeting about fair housing laws and how to comply with them. The meeting should include copies
of all memos regarding policies about how to
comply with fair housing, what can happen to the
landlord for a violation and what will happen to
the employee who violates fair housing.
All information contained in this article is
consistent with the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C.A.
3601 et seq.) Information was also obtained from
the Federal Housing and Urban Development
website (http://www.hud.gov).
SEPTEMBER 2014 • TRENDS | 31