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complaint about us discriminating based on familia - Landlord Forum thread 326163

complaint about us discriminating based on familia by Joe (Michigan) on October 22, 2014 @20:31

                              
We received out of blue a letter from Michigan Department of Civil Rights,saying someone complaint that we discriminate based on familial status, asking for $10,000 settlement.

After much digging, it turns out the lady replied to a Trulia ad telling us that she has a fiancee with 4 children and looking to rent our bungalow. I replied her e-mail with a sentence: Maybe the house is too small for a family of 6. I didn't receive any reply and assume she decided not to apply.

It turns out her daughter had made an appointment to see the house, but I didn't know they are related at all. I went to the house but nobody showed up. So they interpreted my e-mail as a denial to show the house and filed a complaint with Dept. of Civil Rights.

Now the Dept. of Civil Rights is asking me to turn over the following:
1.) Names, addresses, and phone numbers of all of the applicants as well as copies of the applications

2.) Copy of all of the leases between you and your tenants

3.) List of all people you have rented to, along with their last known address, phone number, and number of individuals residing in the property

4.) When was the house built?

5.) When did you purchase the property?

6.) Copy of the purchase agreement, appraisal, and mortgage survey conducted at the time of purchase.

Should we hire a lawyer? Any recommendations? I appreciate all your suggestions.
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Re: complaint about us discriminating based on familia by Anonymous (MI) on October 22, 2014 @20:47 [ Reply ]
OnceI had an ad before, and some repost my ad again with their own email address...
Re: complaint about us discriminating based on familia by MrDan (Georgia) on October 22, 2014 @20:49 [ Reply ]
" Maybe the house is too small for a family of 6"

Yes, that is a discriminating statement.
Yes, you will need a good attorney who knows how to handle this. It can get real expensive and time comsuming.

You will indeed have to provide everything they request as its part of the discovery process. They will be looking for any other potenial discrimination that may have occured.

Have an attorney handle this, you do not want it to get bigger than it is right now.

Read up on FHA/HUD discrimination facts, so you have a better understanding of discrimination.

Best of Luck..


Re: complaint about us discriminating based on familia by Bill on October 22, 2014 @21:10 [ Reply ]
Was the place a three bedroom?
Re: complaint about us discriminating based on familia by John Brayton (Massachusetts) on October 22, 2014 @21:29 [ Reply ]
Yes, you should hire a lawyer. Best of luck.

John
Re: complaint about us discriminating based on familia by Lighthope on October 22, 2014 @23:28 [ Reply ]
Let me add just a little to this.

You had mentioned in a reply to someone in this subject that you destroyed your application documents after you found a qualified renter. This is very bad as you now have no proof of why you turned down others. Fortunately, you did keep records of those you rented to. Good. Those will help.

The size of the house is in your favour. Two bedroom is too small for a family of six. OTOH, I don't know what standard Michigan imposes. Maybe they count three people per bedroom? Or maybe they count the living room as well?

You'll be happy to know there is no federal discrimination law against family size as far as I know.

According to HUD, the standard occupancy is 2 people per bedroom plus 1. Therefore, a two bedroom house can contain 5 people. However, local ordinances can change this and many do.

Your simple statement to them that "maybe the house is too small for a family of 6" is fairly innocent. That shouldn't carry too much weight even with the most prejudiced of Courts.

You'd do better if you can prove that you showed up for the house showing and the daughter no-showed. Still, though, no reason to show a house to someone who shouldn't be renting it.

Despite that bit of good news, you're in trouble. The government is now involved and They Are Out To Get You. That is their job. They live for that. That is how they justify their existence.

A lot of the stuff they are asking for is irrelevant and normally you can tell them to blow it out their ear. But this is the government, and they have ways of making your life miserable.

DO NOT respond to the letter from Michigan Department of Civil Rights. As others have recommended, go straight to an attorney and let him deal with it. The money you pay now for legal help will be far less than what Michigan will do once they get their fangs into you. Notice they are already hitting you up for 10 grand?

Good luck.

Lighthope

Pearls of Wisdom - "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying." - Woody Allen
Re: complaint about us discriminating based on familia by Anonymous on October 23, 2014 @00:19 [ Reply ]
I agree that you need to let a lawyer handle this. You may be ok based on the size of your unit. Are the bedrooms small? Let's hope so.

24 C.F.R. Chapter I, Subchapter A. Appendix I at 566-67 (1990).

Thus, in reviewing occupancy cases, HUD will consider the size and number of bedrooms and other special circumstances. The following principles and hypothetical examples should assist you in determining whether the size of the bedrooms or special circumstances would make an occupancy policy unreasonable.

Size of bedrooms and unit

Consider two theoretical situations in which a housing provider refused to permit a family of five to rent a two-bedroom dwelling based on a ``two people per bedroom'' policy. In the first, the complainants are a family of five who applied to rent an apartment with two large bedrooms and spacious living areas. In the second, the complainants are a family of five who applied to rent a mobile home space on which they planned to live in a small two-bedroom mobile home. Depending on the other facts, issuance of a charge might be warranted in the first situation, but not in the second. The size of the bedrooms also can be a factor suggesting that a determination of no reasonable cause is appropriate. For example, if a mobile home is advertised as a ``two-bedroom'' home, but one bedroom is extremely small, depending on all the facts, it could be reasonable for the park manager to limit occupancy of the home of two people.

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