Fair Housing Alert

HUD ISSUES GUIDES ON FAIR HOUSING ACT AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently issued guidance under the Fair Housing Act clarifying what constitutes sexual harassment and the legal remedies available to victims of sexual harassment committed by employees, agents, or contractors. Landlords may be liable for acts committed by their representatives. For example if a landlord authorizes a maintenance worker to enter a tenant’s home to make a repair, and the maintenance worker sexuaIly harasses the tenant, the management company may be held vicariously liable for the maintenance worker’s actions.

“Individuals have the right to housing without being subjected to sexual harassment,” said Kim Kendrick, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. ”This guidance lets individuals know that they do not have to tolerate sexual harassment in housing and advises landlords of the consequences of failing to abide by the law.”

One way to become familiar and stay updated on your state’s landlord laws is to visit and review regularly the website: landlordstatelaws.com which includes the most updated landlord-tenant laws for all 50 states.