Got $16,000 and a Lawyer? - Fair Housing Case

Actually, it's $16,000 per violation, and one owner/manager of 74 residential apartment units in Scranton, PA could be in for many multiples of this fine.

HUD gives details of this Fair Housing violation, and states that they did not receive a formal complaint, but took action under their ability to initiate complaints when violations are discovered. This owner and manager ran ads stating that the apartments were for tenants "21 and over," a violation of Fair Housing age discrimination regulations.

This owner must really want to go toe-to-toe with HUD, as:

• Requests to stop the ads from a local fair housing group were ignored.
• Undercover HUD testers were discouraged from renting with children.
• Property brochure stated: "The Mill is an apartment community catering to young professionals and all occupants must be twenty-one years or older."
• Attempts to settle the case were unsuccessful.

Let's see....how many ads X $16,000 + attorney fees?