Skip to main content

MHCO Article Topics

MHCO

Age-Old Questions: A Fair Housing Quiz for 55+ Communities

Article
Chuck Carpenter

1. Most of your residents are over 55, so you're allowed to exclude families with

children and market your property as an “adult” community under the senior

housing exemption.

Answer: False. Even if most residents are 55 and older, a community can still face fair housing

HUD's New Rules on Assistance Animals: What Landlords Need to Know

Community Update
MHCO

What the Law Says

The FHA makes it illegal for housing providers to refuse a reasonable accommodation — a change to rules, policies, or services — when necessary for a person with a disability to use and enjoy a dwelling. Waiving a no-pets policy for a disabled tenant's assistance animal is a standard example of this.

Manager Didn’t Weigh the Cost of Denying Large Assistance Dog

Property Management
Chuck Carpenter

The manager said that she could keep the dog if it was “within the weight limits in the rental agreement” and she paid a $14 monthly pet fee. The tenant replied that she was not aware of any weight limit for pets in the rental agreement. The manager responded, “15 lbs. [The landlord] is pretty strict about that.

Suspicious Timing of Eviction Notice Leads to Retaliation Claim

Property Management
Chuck Carpenter

The landlord objected, citing the tenant’s failure to serve proper notice of the claim and insisting that the suspicious timing was mere coincidence and that it was evicting the tenant for legitimate and nondiscriminatory reasons—namely, harassing and threatening his neighbors.

Outcome: The Nevada federal court issued the TRO.