Fair housing violations, even if you aren't charged with anything, can still result in lost income and many hours spent defending yourself.

Real estate defense attorney Robert N. Bass says he had a client who had to spend a chunk o' change to respond to "a totally bogus Fair Housing complaint."

"He was a property manager," says Bass. "The owner decided not to renew this one tenant's lease. My guy sent the standard letter to her. She called the owner and begged him to renew her lease. He told her he wanted to use the unit as a seasonal rental; he'd rather rent it for six months at $1,500 per month, than continue to rent it for $750 year round. He told her it would be less wear and tear on the unit, etc.

"She turned around and filed a Fair Housing complaint - claimed he was discriminating against her because she had kids! She pointed to the 'wear and tear' comment as her evidence."

The tenant didn't lodge a complaint against the property manager, but he was dragged into the fray anyway when she mentioned his name as the property manager.

"My guy got a subpoena from the Attorney General's Office Civil Rights Division, asking him for tons of documentation, not only on this unit but every one he managed (about 300 of them!," recalls Bass. "He had to close his office for several days just to copy and organize and summarize all the stuff they asked for. We put it all together and sent it in. We went down there for a meeting. They reviewed everything and thanked him for his cooperation, and that was the end of it. Good result, but he was out several thousand dollars and about 50 hours of his time."

How can you keep from getting dragged into the same kind of mess?

Says Bass, "Perhaps the only thing a property manager can do is become as familiar as possible with the law, and try to develop the habit of asking oneself, 'Could what I'm doing be misconstrued as discriminatory?' Sort of like sensitivity training, self-taught."

Get familiar with Fair Housing laws at the Office Of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity as outlined in the Fair Housing Act. Sec. 804. [42 U.S.C. 3604] deals with discrimination in sale or rental of housing and other prohibited practices and Sec. 805. [42 U.S.C. 3605] deals with discrimination in residential real estate-related transactions.

Published: December 19, 2002

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. For more articles by Blanche, click here.