In today’s highly competitive rental market, effective advertising is crucial to attracting the right renters. But for these very same reasons, your advertising and marketing practices can get you into fair housing hot water. The advertising media you select and the message you craft may be illegally exclusive. While it can be direct and intentional—No children … Christian community … Not suitable for the disabled (which, regrettably, come from actual ads)—discriminatory advertising can also be far more subtle, so much so that it’s easy to cross the line without intending to.

This month’s lesson will help you keep your advertising and marketing practices within the bounds of fair housing laws. First, we’ll explain the fair housing advertising laws. Then, we’ll outline a strategy that will work for any landlord, whether its marketing consists of simple lawn signs, digital ads on social media websites, or anything in between. 

Question:  We have sub-metered water and are sending tenants monthly water bills. May I charge them a late fee for failure to pay the bill on time? If so, how do I go about notifying them?

Question:  Your community allows residents to reserve the common room for parties and other social activities, including Christmas and Hanukkah celebrations. A resident asks if he can reserve the room to host a pagan celebration to mark the winter solstice. Must you grant his request?

Question: We are trying to send an eviction notice to a tenant who will not keep their pet inside; it is consistently defecating in a neighbor’s yard. I am confused about which MHCO form to use. I don’t wish to levy a fine[1] as they have already received a citation from the city. The 30-Day eviction for continuing violations (No. 43 seems to be the closest form, but the instructions specifically say it is not to be used for a violation involving a pet. Can you clarify how to send an eviction for this issue? 

[1] ORS 90.302 allows fines for the violation of a written pet agreement or of a rule relating to pets in a facility.

Editor's Note:  In 2019 the Oregon Legislature made changes to mediation for Oregon Community owners and residents.  At the time time we published 17 Q&As for MHCO members by Bill Miner, Davis Wright Tremaine.  Here is a re-visit of an article published earlier.

HUD recently announced that it has approved a Conciliation/Voluntary Compliance Agreementbetween the Housing Authority of Maricopa County, in Mesa, Ariz., and one of its residents who has a mental health disability. Under the agreement, the housing authority will pay $10,000 to the tenant and provide fair housing training for its employees who work with the public. The housing authority will also vacate the tenant’s eviction and waive the $3,516 eviction judgment that had been entered against her.

Question: We have a tenant who physically assaulted one of our Managers, creating an unsafe condition for numerous tenants. Police were called. Tenant was arrested and transported to a hospital for observation. Since her arrest she remains in a facility.  How should we handle this - 24-hour notice or 30-day notice? 

Also, how do we serve the notice since she remains in a facility?  With rising abuse of managers by tenants, what recourse do managers have?  Where do you draw the line with tenant harassment of managers - verbal and physical?

Question: What can the landlord do when water is obviously leaking from one of the resident’s homes? And what if the leak is less obvious, e.g. from under the home?

“Retaliation” is a fancy word for revenge. It’s a nasty action that you take to get back at somebody for doing something bad to you. In the context of fair housing, retaliation means an unfavorable action a landlord takes like rejecting a rental applicant or evicting a tenant because he complains about discrimination or exercises any of his other rights under discrimination laws.

On August 19, 2021, the Oregon Supreme Court issued Chief Justice Order #21-031 (“CJO 21-031”) which extends certain statutory time periods for FED/Eviction actions. The CJO went into effect immediately and remains so until 60-days after the end of Oregon’s COVID State of Emergency or until the Chief Justice so orders. As of now the Governor’s declared State of Emergency is in effect until December 31, 2021.