A Resident's Discriminatory Acts May Now Impart Landlord Responsibility under the Fair Housing Act

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has issued a final rule under the Fair Housing Act, which became effective on October 14th, 2016, clarifying that discriminatory actions by non-agents of the landlord, such as other tenants, are the landlord's responsibility; even if the landlord is unaware of the discriminatory actions.

Under the final rule on liability, “a management company, homeowner’s association, condominium association, or cooperative” could be in violation of the Fair Housing Act if the housing provider “knew or should have known that a resident was harassing another resident, and yet did not take prompt action to correct and end it.”

HUD explains that this final rule should prompt landlords to reduce the potential for discrimination by establishing anti-discrimination standards and making them clear to all tenants.

Full text of HUD's final rule can be found by clicking here.

Click here, to read the article AXIOMetrics has published on this topic.

The Wall Street Journal also discussed this matter back in August. (subscription required)