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Question 1. |
What fair housing laws apply in Washington state? |
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Question 2. |
How do I know which laws apply to my property? |
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Question 3. |
How do I know which agency has geographical jurisdiction over my property? |
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Question 4. |
Some of the protected classes are confusing. What do they actually mean? |
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Question 5. |
The fair housing agency chart lists retaliation. What should we know about that? |
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Question 6. |
What housing actions are covered by the fair housing laws? |
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Question 7. |
How long does a tenant have to file a fair housing complaint in the various jurisdictions? |
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Question 8. |
Who is held responsible for violations? |
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Question 9. |
Who can file a fair housing complaint? |
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Question 10. |
What is the relationship between the Landlord-Tenant laws and fair housing laws? |
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Question 11. |
A complaint was just filed against us alleging discrimination. What happens now? |
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Question 19. |
How can I be sure my screening process meets fair housing guidelines? |
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Question 20. |
If several applicants are competing for the same apartment, can I choose the applicant I believe will be the best based on my experience? |
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Question 21. |
Can I say that an apartment is not available if I don't think some applicants would make good tenants? |
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Question 22. |
Is it legal for a rental manager to request to see a photo ID from prospective applicants? |
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Question 23. |
What should I do if someone who doesn't speak English comes to look for an apartment? |
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Question 24. |
Can I verify that someone is legally in the country? |
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Question 25. |
What should I do if an applicant is a recent immigrant with no social security number and with little or no employment or rental history in this country? |
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Question 26. |
Is it okay to offer rental "specials" to induce more prospective tenants to apply? |
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Question 27. |
Can a housing provider legally refuse applicants because of their criminal record? |
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Question 28. |
How do fair housing laws affect income and employment requirements? |
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Question 29. |
We expect tenants in our rental house to maintain the yard and make minor repairs. Can I ask female applicants if they can handle this work? |
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Question 30. |
What are some things we should know about setting policies and rules at our complex from a fair housing perspective? |
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Question 31. |
When is it okay to warn tenants who violate the rules without risking a fair housing complaint? |
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Question 32. |
I am a good friend of a tenant who lives at the complex I manage. I usually put her repair requests ahead of other tenant's requests. Will that get me into trouble?
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Question 33. |
What are some examples of evictions that could violate fair housing laws? |
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Question 34. |
When is it okay to evict tenants without violating fair housing laws? |
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Question 35. |
Can I offer senior discounts to those who always pay their rent on time and follow the rules? |
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Question 36. |
Okay, we've heard "be consistent" over and over, but is there any time we can make an exception to the rules without risking an allegation of discrimination? |
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Question 37. |
What records should I keep to document my actions as a manager? |
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Question 38. |
Are there any special fair housing issues we should be aware of or tips to assist our maintenance staff? |
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Question 46. |
Can I say "Families Welcome" in my advertising or on my community signage? |
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Question 47. |
Should I avoid certain words or phrases to make sure I don't turn away families with children? |
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Question 48. |
Can I refuse to rent to a family with a young child if the available unit has an unsafe balcony or if the complex is near a busy intersection with no place for children to play? |
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Question 49. |
Can I have one building for families near a playground and have another quieter building for my tenants who don't have children? |
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Question 50. |
If a long-term tenant asks me not to rent a unit above her to a family to keep the noise down, what should I tell her? |
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Question 51. |
We have had problems with teens belonging to gangs and causing property damage. Can we refuse to rent to families with teenagers or charge them a higher damage deposit? |
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Question 52. |
A couple with a 10-year-old son and a 13-year-old daughter wanted to rent a two bedroom unit. We told them they need another bedroom because two children of opposite sexes can't be in the same room. Don't HUD rules allow us to do that? |
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Question 53. |
Many children at the complex ride their bikes on the sidewalks, making it difficult for tenants to walk to their units from the parking lot. We now have a rule that says "children cannot ride their bicycles on the walkways." Is that okay? |
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Question 54. |
Some children at this complex caused damage to the common areas. Can I establish a rule that says "parents are responsible for damage done by their children" and stop them from playing there? |
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Question 55. |
I have a rule that children's toys and other items must be kept in their unit and may not be left in the halls or common areas. Is that okay? |
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Question 56. |
Can we have a curfew at our complex to make sure the teens don't loiter and cause problems at night? |
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Question 57. |
Our complex requires that all children under 18 have an adult present when using the pool. We also have adult swim hours so our adult tenants can swim laps. Are these rules allowed? |
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Question 58. |
Our complex requires that all children under 18 have an adult present when using the sauna or the workout room. Can we do that? |
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Question 76. |
What is a reasonable accommodation? |
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Question 77. |
How do I know if someone needs an accommodation? |
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Question 78. |
If a tenant requests an accommodation, can I require documentation that the tenant really needs the accommodation? |
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Question 79. |
How do you tell if a request is "reasonable" or not? |
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Question 80. |
A tenant who recently began using a walker to get around has requested a move to a ground floor apartment. Must I allow her to move? |
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Question 81. |
We have a "no pets" rule and a tenant with a disability has asked to keep a "service animal." What do I need to know about these animals? |
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Question 82. |
An otherwise qualified applicant asked to have a Rottweiler as a service animal, but our insurance company will not insure certain breeds, including Rottweilers. What should we do? |
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Question 83. |
A tenant with a disability has requested a reserved accessible parking space in our complex that has no assigned parking. Must we provide this? |
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Question 84. |
I just learned that a 13-year-old at our complex who frequently swims with his 15-year-old brother has epilepsy. I sent a notice to his mother informing her that her son may not swim without her or another responsible adult present. Is that okay? |
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Question 85. |
I've received noise complaints about a child with a developmental disability. What steps can I take to resolve this issue? |
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Question 86. |
Tenants are complaining about the odd and threatening behavior of another tenant. To keep them happy, we issued him a violation notice. His sister then notified us that he has a psychiatric disability. What should we do? |
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Question 87. |
Even though we've accommodated him several times, a tenant with a disability keeps making accommodation requests. How many accommodations do we have to provide? |
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Question 88. |
After we served a tenant with a summons for an unlawful detainer action, he asked for a reasonable accommodation and expects us to work with him to help him remain a tenant. Do we have to do this at such a late stage? |
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Question 89. |
Are there any circumstances when I don't have to provide an accommodation or modification? |
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