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July 29, 2008HUD CHARGES WISCONSIN LANDLORDS WITH DISCRIMINATING AGAINST FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN |
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From HUD Press Releases: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today that it has charged the owners and property manager of a Wisconsin rental property with housing discriminating for refusing to rent certain apartments to families with children. HUD alleges that the Joseph Peltz Trusts Numbers 1 and 2 and Rebecca Peltz, owners of an eight-unit apartment building in West Allis, and the on-site property manager, Crystal Sahr, unlawfully required tenants with children to rent apartments on the building's first floor or excluded them entirely. The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful for a housing provider to refuse to rent to families because they have children or impose different terms or conditions on families with children. When Sahr inquired about who would occupy the apartment, Brawley informed her that it would be for her and two children. One tester contacted Sahr to inquire about the unit and volunteered that her two sons would occupy the apartment with her. Sahr allegedly added, "We've had kids here for years," but because they were losing tenants, "as families with kids move out, we didn't rent to families with kids anymore." The HUD charge will be heard by a United States Administrative Law Judge unless any party to the charge elects to have the case heard in federal district court. If an administrative law judge finds after a hearing that discrimination has occurred, he may award damages to each complainant for actual loss as a result of the discrimination, as well as damages for emotional distress, humiliation, and loss of civil rights.
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