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  While vital to prevent overcrowding, occupancy standards may violate fair housing rules to the extent they have the effect of excluding families with children. Spot the Discrimination Mistake A tenant who shares a one-bedroom apartment with her husband tells the landlord she’s pregnant with the couple’s first child. Along with a smile and…

  Question. When I try to trespass people off of park grounds, the cops refuse to do so based on the reasoning that they could be invited there by a resident, and they (the cops) have no way of knowing. I have dealt with this issue in numerous parks throughout Oregon, so I know I am not the only one. What can we do?  

  Adult supervision requirements are the leading source of pool-related family discrimination complaints. The safety rationale for such rules is clear. After all, swimming without adult supervision is the leading cause of drowning deaths for young children.

  Family status is the fourth most commonly alleged ground of federal fair housing discrimination, trailing only disability, sex, and race. Many familial status complaints are the result of misguided safety rules involving children, particularly with regard to swimming pools.  

  Question. I am looking for information dealing with fence liability between landlords and tenants, and between tenants and other tenants. Our Park Management has not put up any fences. All fences were installed by current and past tenants. Generally, my questions relate to the duty to maintain these fences, liability from trees (hazard and…

Designated parking spaces for mobility-impaired tenants is another frequent source of reasonable accommodations complaints and legal mistakes. Consider this common scenario. Spot the Discrimination Mistake A landlord is ready, willing, and able to provide designated parking and other reasonable accommodations for mobility-impaired individuals,…

  Charging a Pet Deposit for an Assistance AnimalThe assistance animal SNAFU isn’t the only common mistake made in the context of reasonable accommodation no-pets policy exemptions.

Fair Housing Pitfall: Not Exempting Assistance Animal from No-Pets Policy

Question:  What happens to the home of a tenant living alone? What protections are in place?  

Question:  All indications are that the 2023 legislature is going to revisit the rent increase formula currently in effect, and once passed it would likely become law immediately upon the Governor’s signature. How can landlords deal with having already issued a September 2022 90-day rent increase notice if the 2023 rent cap is legislatively…