MHCO

Criminal background checks are the latest battleground for potential race discrimination claims. If it’s been a while since you last reviewed your policy, it’s important to check to make sure your policy doesn’t run afoul HUD guidelines addressing the discriminatory effect that criminal background policies may have on racial and ethnic minorities.

Who bought a planner for 2020?  Doesn’t that seem like the most useless purchase now?

Fear, failure, and uncertainty have been words we have heard, seen, and felt this year.  2020 has certainly thrown us a curve ball, and if you are like the most of us, you had no plan or procedure on how to deal with a global pandemic.  I have been instructing emergency preparedness for over 15 years, and Covid19 has never been in my research or curriculum.  It will be from now on.  I have always dedicated time to address the necessity of proper PPE.  You can bet that will be even more emphasized now. And what about technology and the ability to quickly pivot to a remote workforce? Did this fit into a pre-2020 emergency plan?  Probably not, but now that piece is vital.

When showing available units in your community, refrain from any comments or conduct that suggest a prospect should—or shouldn’t—live at your community, or in a particular area within your community—because of her race or color. It’s considered “steering,” an unlawful practice under the FHA, if you direct, guide, or encourage prospects, based on an illegally discriminatory reason, to rent only certain units at a community or to seek alternate living options.

Rule #2: Apply Uniform Qualification Standards, Regardless of Race

This month MHCO focuses on fulfilling your obligation to comply with fair housing rules banning discrimination based on race and color with a six part series – with six rules community owners and managers need to follow.

The owners and operators of an Illinois mobile home community recently agreed to pay $251,500 to settle a lawsuit alleging race discrimination, according to the Justice Department. The complaint alleged that the former manager imposed more burdensome application requirements to discourage African-American prospects from living there.

By:

Jeffrey S. Bennett, Attorney at Law
Warren Allen, LLP

A Historical Perspective

For many years, landlords and tenants alike have been asking for Leases that provide long term stability and predictable expectations. When compared to month-to-month tenancies or commonly used fixed term Leases (e.g., one or two year Leases), long term Leases fulfill those objectives while providing the parties with some much desired peace of mind.

Long term Leases have been in use in California and other states for many years. More recently, a small handful of Oregon park owners began offering long term leasing opportunities to tenants. The reported responses to those leasing opportunities have been overwhelmingly favorable.

This month at Manufactured Housing Communities of Oregon (MHCO), we look at how to avoid fair housing trouble while dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. For months now, the nation has been confronting the public health emergency caused by the new coronavirus. By April, all 50 states had reported cases of COVID-19 to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), though different parts of the country experienced different levels of COVID-19 activity. According to the CDC, U.S. COVID-19 cases include:

• People who were infected while traveling, before returning to the United States;
• People who were infected after having close contact with someone known to be infected with the virus; and
• People who were infected but don’t know how or where they were infected.

Last week we uploaded “10 rules on how to avoid fair housing claims based on familial status”.   This week, let’s look at how the rules might apply in the real world. Here are  4 questions - with answers posted on MHCO.ORG.  

INSTRUCTIONS: Each of the following questions has only one correct answer.