Top 10 Fair Housing Mistakes

A good landlord doesn't discriminate; he protects and assists his tenant/buyer in any way he can. If a landlord does any of these top ten things then he will surely get into trouble.
As a buyer/tenant, be aware of your rights and fight for them if you need to and as a landlord/seller, know these things lest you want to be in serious legal trouble which can cost you a lot of money.
Here are the top ten fair housing mistakes that both buyer/tenant and landlord/seller must know.

"Children May Not Ride Bicycles On The Sidewalk"

People with children in the house should be treated the same way as people with no children in the house. It would be more acceptable if you say "No riding bicycles on the sidewalk."
People with children in the house can take this opportunity to fight for their right and that means fair treatment for all.

"How Many Kids Do You Have" or "Are You Pregnant"

Be careful with your questions; it may be a benign question to you but it can be discriminatory to some. People who are pregnant or are currently undergoing a legal custody battle for a child "are also protected under familial status".


"Failing To Research"

Make a methodical research if there "are additional protected classes beyond the federal seven" in your area. Being well informed eliminates the possibilities of complaints against you depending on the state you are located in.

Do your study and put it into heart so you won't offend anyone. Examples of sensitive topics are religion and politics that are sometimes covered in this clause so make sure you do your homework.
Proper Documentation

Proper documentation may include specific details about rent offer, promos, deposits and fees. If there is a complaint against you and there is no existing documents about such things, it will be harder for you to prove that such incidents didn't occur. To save everybody the trouble, put everything in writing.

Declining A Rental Application

You can't deny a rental application just because you want to; you need to state out facts as to why you cannot accept a certain applicant and the only valid reason is that the applicant wasn't able to meet "your stated qualification criteria".

If you are completely denying the application without any basis at all then you are most likely to receive a complaint against you. The best way to avoid this is to don't discriminate at all.

Denying A Disabled Resident

You can't deny a disabled resident's request to have a specific parking spot just because you think that the asssigned spot for handicappeds are enough or alright.
If in any case there is a basis to deny the request, ask your supervisor first or seek legal counsel to certify if it's allowed to deny or not.

Denying A Service Animal

Service animals are different from household pets. If your tenant has a disability, refusing them their service animal is prohibited. They're service animals because they assist handicappeds in their day to day activities. They act as guides to people with disabilities.

They are not considered pets that's why they are not covered in the pet restriction rules where there is a weight, size or breed restrictions, additional deposits or "exclusions from areas where people are generally welcome".

Evicting A Hoarder

What many people don't know is that hoarding is actually considered a disorder. "It is a persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions because of a perceived need to save them".
And because this is a disorder, people who hoard are protected under the Fair Housing Act so before you do anything at all regarding this matter, you should be well informed about neccessary rules first.

The Maintenance Team

When responding to service requests, do it in a timely fashion and don't play favorites. Don't give your maintenance team the right to pick which service request they want to answer first.
Answering service should always be first request means first service.

Your Associates

If you have a whole team dealing with clients, expect the best service from them from courtesy, to fast reply to fast serviceand so on.

There is an annual Fair Housing Training that you can send your associates to so they know their duties and responsibilities.