Search

Fair Housing: 10 Dos & Don'ts for Dealing with Families with Children

MHCO

Complaints can arise from the way you advertise, show units, apply occupancy standards, and enforce community rules.

 

This week MHCO looks at fair housing problems that can arise when dealing with families with children. Fair housing law bans discrimination against families with children, but there’s more to it than that. You could get into fair housing trouble from the way that you advertise your property, show units, apply occupancy standards, and enforce community rules.

Phil Querin Q&A: Unauthorized Pet and Use of Correct Form

Phil Querin

Unauthorized Pet and Use of Correct Form

 

Question.What form would someone use for unauthorized pet. Form 43 (continuing violations) says “not to use for pet”. But Form 43A is for distinct violations, i.e. one-time incidents. Is bringing an unauthorized pet into the community considered distinct rather than on-going?
 

 

Fair Housing Claims Based on Familial Status - Questions and Answers

MHCO

Last week we uploaded “10 rules on how to avoid fair housing claims based on familial status”.   This week, let’s look at how the rules might apply in the real world. Here are  4 questions - with answers posted on MHCO.ORG.  

 

INSTRUCTIONS: Each of the following questions has only one correct answer. 


 

Mark Busch Q&A: COVID-19 Emergency Violations by Residents

Mark L. Busch

 

 

Question:  We have residents in our RV park who seem to be blatantly violating the governor’s COVID-19 emergency stay-at-home order.  Some residents have outside family members or guests come by regularly, while a few other residents get together on their spaces to just “hang out” in the evenings. This has caused some concern in the park, so what can or should we do?

 

Phil Querin Q&A: Assistance Animals Vs. Comfort Animals

Phil Querin

Question.I have a question about the Pet form. The term “assistance”  animal is used throughout. We are  in a disagreement with HUD over a comfort animal versus a “service” animal.  (one state document does use the term assistance and classes that as service in a footnote)  

 

Our defense is that the terms are very specific in the laws, or agency guidelines, both state and federal.   A landlord is specifically released from any responsibility to accept any animal that is not certified as “service.” HUD says they are not bound by another agency’s rules. Isn’t it important for our forms to be specific by using the term “service?”.

 

How To Comply With Fair Housing While Dealing With Covid-19

MHCO

This month at Manufactured Housing Communities of Oregon (MHCO), we look at how to avoid fair housing trouble while dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. For months now, the nation has been confronting the public health emergency caused by the new coronavirus. By April, all 50 states had reported cases of COVID-19 to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), though different parts of the country experienced different levels of COVID-19 activity. According to the CDC, U.S. COVID-19 cases include:

  • People who were infected while traveling, before returning to the United States;
  • People who were infected after having close contact with someone known to be infected with the virus; and
  • People who were infected but don’t know how or where they were infected.