October 8, 2015
In a press release on the FHA/HUD official site, you’ll find the following statement about Fair Housing laws:
“The Fair Housing Actmakes it unlawful to deny housing because a family has children under the age of 18 and to make statements that discriminate against families with children. Housing may exclude families with children only if it qualifies as housing for older persons under the Act. The Fair Housing Act permits the familynot the landlordto decide what unit is appropriate or safe for them.”
This is mentioned in connection with a case brought by HUD against a Pennsylvania landlord. In a press release (HUDNo.15-123) published recently, we learn, “The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it has charged a Pennsylvania landlord with housing discrimination for allegedly refusing to rent apartments to families with children.”
The charges, according to the press release, allege that Michael DeRomo, “who owns and manages rental properties and formerly owned a four-unit building in Coopersburg, posted an online classified ad for one of his Coopersburg units that discouraged families with children from applying. Specifically, the ad read: ‘Not suitable for children due to the exterior landing and stairs.'”
HUD states this is a violation of the Fair Housing Act. But why are we discussing a rental property issue in a blog post about FHA mortgages?
Borrowers come to the FHA loan process from a variety of circumstances. Some have lived in the same area their whole lives and are just looking to upgrade to a bigger or more desirable home. But others come to a new housing market from somewhere else, and may need to rent an apartment or other property until they can finish house hunting.
In cases like those, such discriminatory practices would definitely impair the search for a new home. Regardless, such discrimination should be eliminated wherever it may be found, and often the only way to put a stop to it is to rely on consumer complaints when the discrimination occurs.
The potential buyer or renter is an important part of the push to end discrimination in housing, and sometimes it’s not always obvious when the discrimination occurs–the borrower or renter may not know the full implication of his or her rights under the Fair Housing Act.
With regard to the Pennsylvania case, the HUD press release states, “According the HUDs charge, a female tester posing as the mother of a four-year-old told DeRomo that she would be sharing the apartment with her daughter. ”
“After being told about the child, DeRomo allegedly told the tester that the ad stated ‘no kids’ because the stairwell landing was not secure and he did not feel comfortable renting the unit to the family due to safety concerns for the child. Meanwhile, DeRomo gave a tester who said she had no children a tour of the unit and a rental application. DeRomo ultimately rented the unit to an applicant without children. DeRomo allegedly stated that he has not allowed any family to live in the two second-floor apartments of the Coopersburg building due to the landing and the stairs. ”
This case will be brought before a U.S. administrative law judge.
If you suspect discrimination of any kind in the housing process, whether connected to an FHA loan or not, contact HUD directly by calling them at (800) 669-9777 or via TTY at (800) 927-9275.
Joe Wallace has been specializing in military and personal finance topics since 1995. His work has appeared on Air Force Television News, The Pentagon Channel, ABC and a variety of print and online publications. He is a 13-year Air Force veteran and a member of the Air Force Public Affairs Alumni Association. He was Managing editor for www.valoans.com for (8) years and is currently the Associate Editor for FHANewsblog.com.
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