An important case
on familiar status discrimination
Mother of five receives
$5,000 and ten years of free rent in familial status discrimination case
Family could receive as much as an additional $21,500
Louisville, KY A single
mother with five children has settled a federal fair housing discrimination
lawsuit against the owner of a mobile home park in Louisville. The charges
include denying them a lease, charging them higher rent, and attempting
to evict them because of the size of her family.
The landlord's written
rules included discriminatory and illegal provisions like "families
may have no more than two children," "there is a $5.00 additional
(rent) charge for each child," "children must be kept on individual
lot," "children are not allowed to play or ride in front of
the office or the park," "children should be off the street
by sunset," and "all youth, 16 years of age and older must be
off the street by 10:00 p.m., all youth under 16 years of age must be
off the street by dark." These restrictions against families with
children violate the fair housing laws of Louisville, the State of Kentucky,
and the United States.
The Fair Housing
Councils executive director, called the settlement a great resolution
to the complaint. "Families with children have the same rights
to housing as everyone else. Landlords and other housing providers cannot
place restrictions on families due to their size, and they cannot place
unreasonable restrictions on children. This settlement sends a strong
message to housing providers who think they can treat families with
children differently than their other tenants."
The Fair Housing Council's
former staff attorney said that just because housing providers rent to
families with children, it doesn't mean they can impose unfair rules against
them. "To limit the number of children in a home but not the number
of adults is ridiculous and illegal. The same is true when it comes to
charging families additional rent for each child they have and telling
parents when and where their children can play."
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