A Nevada housing organization and the owner of apartment complexes in Reno settled allegations of housing discrimination in violation of the Fair Housing Act, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced.
The agreement settles allegations of housing discrimination against prospective tenants with disabilities who require assistance animals.
The Fair Housing Act prohibits housing providers from denying housing to people with disabilities or imposing different rental terms and conditions. This includes refusing to make reasonable accommodations in policies or practices for people with disabilities.
“Residents who require assistance animals shouldn’t have their housing rights denied to them,” Bryan Greene, HUD general deputy assistant secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, said. “HUD will continue working to ensure that landlords meet their obligation to comply with the Fair Housing Act’s requirements.”
The case came to HUD’s attention when the Silver State Fair Housing Council filed four complaints against the owner and manager of Silver Lake Apartments, Vale Townhomes, Oak Manor Apartments and Angel Street Apartments. These complaints allege ERGS, Inc. and Silver Lake Apartments, LLC discriminated against prospective tenants who required assistance animals by requiring applicants who required support animals to pay a pet deposit fee.
In addition to the Fair Housing Act’s protections, HUD provided guidance in April 2013 reaffirming that housing providers must provide reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities who require assistance animals.
Under the conciliation agreement, ERGS, Inc. will pay Silver State Fair Housing Council $20,500. ERGS, Inc., and Silver Lake Apartments, LLC, will also adopt policies that are consistent with the Fair Housing Act and provide fair housing training for all employees who interact with tenants or applicants.
Disability is the most common basis of fair housing complaint filed with HUD and its partner agencies. Last year alone, HUD and its partners considered over 4,900 disability-related complaints, or more than 58 percent of all fair housing complaints that were filed.