While the current law is unsettled, for landlords there’s much more at stake than what the law requires.

MHCO’s  mission is to provide landlords and other community owners with a game plan to train their managers, supervisors, leasing agents, and other representatives how to spot and steer clear of rental and management practices that can lead to liability for housing discrimination. Occasionally, however, the focus switches to training home owners themselves. Training the trainer becomes particularly imperative when the topic involves a novel, rather than a familiar, liability risk.

Such is the case with tenant harassment. “Harassment has been a compliance challenge for years,” you may be thinking. But this lesson deals with a new and emerging form of harassment that traditional fair housing training doesn’t typically address—namely, discriminatory harassment committed by one tenant against another.

Question: What can a landlord do about resident’s who deliberately leave water running  to get back at the landlord?

Question:  We require that the application for residency in our manufactured housing community be completely filled out - including Social Security numbers.  We require two pieces of identification - one may be a social security card.  However, my understanding is that you cannot use a social security card for identification.  Is that true? 

We have had some real estate brokers object and tell us that it is against law do deny a person occupancy because they do not have a social security number.  Some applicants have an ITIN (individual taxpayer identification number).  

The screening company has said they cannot do a credit check with ITIN - they need a social security number.  

So, my questions are: (a) Is it illegal to requirea social security number; and (b) would it be a violation of the Fair Housing Laws to deny an applicant because they do not have a social security number?

In celebration of Fair Housing Month, 2021, MHCO is highlighting 10 essential rules to help you to comply with fair housing law.

Housing discrimination has been outlawed for more than 50 years, but all too often communities still find themselves on the wrong side of the law and are forced to pay out thousands—and in some cases millions—in settlements or court awards, civil penalties, and attorney’s fees to get themselves out of fair housing trouble.

FOLLOW THESE 10 RULES TO AVOID FAIR HOUSING TROUBLE

Question:  We had a resident that we entered into a stipulated judgment agreement with on March 6, 2020.  This was prior to tenants having the ability to claim financial hardship or having the Moratorium in place. They paid 2 payments but stopped paying the terms of the agreement as well as not paying their current rent payments. Are they protected under the financial hardship provisions of the Moratorium? Are we required to send them the Declaration of Financial Hardship? Can we file an Affidavit of Non-compliance due to the resident not complying with the stipulated agreement? 

Contrary to popular belief, housing segregation remains alive and well not just in specific regions of the U.S. but across America. So concluded HUD upon completing its most recent review of the state of fair housing in the U.S. “Real estate agents and rental housing providers recommend and show fewer available homes and apartments to minority families, thereby increasing their costs and restricting their housing options,” concludes the 2013 report.

MHCO Note:  Rent in arrears has become a large problem for community owners as we move out of the COVID-19 crisis.  There has been a lot of media on executive orders banning evictions for nonpayment of rent and grace periods for residents who are falling behind in their rent payments.  There has been less attention paid to the resources that are available for residents and community owners.  Here is some information from Oregon Housing and Community Services and an example of from Lane County on the type of services currently available.  The STARR program has access by county and can be very helpful for tapping local resources.  Please make sure that your residents are aware of these programs – the resident needs to apply but the check typically goes direct to the community owner.  There is nothing in Oregon statute that prevents you from providing this information to your residents - you just cannot be threatening ('if you don't apply I am going to evict you').  You might find these programs provide some ‘breathing room’ as we wait for the Landlord Compensation Fund to get back up and running.

One of the most frequently asked questions on the MHCO Landlord/Manager hot line or seminars is assistance animals.  Here are five questions and answers to help provide some guidance.

A tree that was never known by anyone including the tenant, or the landlord, to be considered a “hazard tree” prior to a windstorm, later falls and does no damage.  This tree was neither planted by the current tenant, nor the community.[1]  

Question No. 1. Given that there was no negligence by anyone, is the damage done by the windstorm considered an Act of God?

Question No. 2. With the tree now uprooted and lying on the ground, does it now present a hazard or meet the definition of a “hazard tree” thereby shifting the obligation to “maintain” a hazard tree to the Landlord?

Question No. 3. Does maintaining a tree include tree removal?

Question No. 4. Who is legally responsible to pay the expenses associated with the disposal of the tree?