CAM Legal & Fair Housing Compliance 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A prospective tenant tells you she has a service animal due to a visual impairment. The property has a strict no-pets policy. What is the legally correct response?
- Deny the application because the no-pets policy applies to all animals
- Allow the service animal as a reasonable accommodation under the Fair Housing Act (Correct answer)
- Charge an additional pet deposit for the service animal
- Request full medical records documenting the visual impairment before deciding
Correct answer: Allow the service animal as a reasonable accommodation under the Fair Housing Act
Service animals for people with disabilities must be permitted as a reasonable accommodation under the Fair Housing Act, regardless of a no-pets policy.
Question 2: Under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), an apartment manager must:
- Evict any tenant who is a victim of domestic violence to protect other residents
- Provide lease bifurcation options and protect victims from eviction solely based on being a victim (Correct answer)
- Notify local law enforcement whenever a tenant reports domestic violence
- Terminate the lease of both the victim and the abuser immediately
Correct answer: Provide lease bifurcation options and protect victims from eviction solely based on being a victim
VAWA prohibits denying housing or evicting tenants solely because they are victims of domestic violence and requires lease bifurcation options.
Question 3: A resident requests permission to add grab bars in the bathroom due to a mobility disability. The manager should:
- Deny the request to avoid property damage liability
- Allow the modification at the resident's expense and may require restoration upon move-out (Correct answer)
- Require the resident to use only management-approved contractors at management's expense
- Grant the modification only if the property is federally subsidized
Correct answer: Allow the modification at the resident's expense and may require restoration upon move-out
Under the Fair Housing Act, landlords must allow reasonable modifications for disabled residents, typically at the resident's expense, and may require restoration.
Question 4: Which action by a property manager would constitute illegal steering under the Fair Housing Act?
- Showing all available units to every applicant regardless of background
- Directing minority applicants only toward units in certain sections of the community (Correct answer)
- Advertising vacancies in multiple languages to reach diverse applicants
- Providing the same rental criteria to all applicants
Correct answer: Directing minority applicants only toward units in certain sections of the community
Steering is the illegal practice of directing prospective tenants toward or away from certain units based on protected class characteristics.
Question 5: The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) as it relates to rental housing prohibits discrimination based on:
- Criminal background history only
- Race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, or receipt of public assistance (Correct answer)
- Credit score below a specified threshold
- Number of occupants relative to unit size
Correct answer: Race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, or receipt of public assistance
ECOA prohibits discrimination in credit transactions, including rental applications, based on the listed protected classes.
Question 6: A landlord includes a clause in the lease stating 'maximum two persons per one-bedroom apartment.' Under the Fair Housing Act, this occupancy standard:
- Is always legally permissible as it is a legitimate business standard
- May be challenged if it has a discriminatory effect on families with children (Correct answer)
- Is required by HUD and must be enforced strictly
- Only applies to federally subsidized properties
Correct answer: May be challenged if it has a discriminatory effect on families with children
Overly restrictive occupancy standards can constitute familial status discrimination if they disproportionately exclude families with children.
Question 7: Which statement best describes the concept of 'disparate impact' under fair housing law?
- Intentionally treating applicants differently because of a protected characteristic
- A neutral policy that has a disproportionate negative effect on a protected class without justification (Correct answer)
- Advertising vacancies in ways that exclude certain neighborhoods
- Refusing to rent to applicants who belong to a protected class
Correct answer: A neutral policy that has a disproportionate negative effect on a protected class without justification
Disparate impact occurs when a seemingly neutral policy disproportionately harms a protected class even without discriminatory intent.
CAM Legal & Fair Housing Compliance 2
A prospective tenant tells you she has a service animal due to a visual impairment.
The property has a strict no-pets policy.
What is the legally correct response?