The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced it approved a conciliation agreement under the Fair Housing Act between the Metropolitan Management Corp. and Lancaster Court Associates and a family of former tenants, HUD announced in a press release.
The agreement resolves allegations the housing providers discriminated against the family when terminating their lease because a member of the family had a second child. The Fair Housing Acts makes it illegal to discriminate in the sale or rental of housing based on race, color, national origin, disability, religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), and familial status.
The agreement stems from a complaint against Metropolitan Management Corp. and Lancaster Court Associates (respondents) alleging that when a baby was born to a family of four, the respondents terminated the family’s lease for a two-bedroom unit because of their overly rigid occupancy policy.
“No tenant should be subjected to housing discrimination based on their familial status or family status as some call it,” Demetria McCain, principal deputy secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, said in the release. “This agreement demonstrates HUD’s commitment to enforcing the Fair Housing Act and making sure all families have access to fair and inclusive housing.”
Under the terms of the agreement, the respondents will pay $70,000 to the tenants as well as attend fair housing training, develop an occupancy policy that conforms with the Fair Housing Act, and train their staff on the new occupancy policy.