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| WA State FAIR HOUSING UPDATE: October 2004 |
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By Dixie Shaw In January 2004 a family contacted the Fair Housing Center of South Puget Sound (FHCSPS) complaining that management at an apartment complex owned by a local housing authority refused to let their children play outside, frequently closed the playground, and in general enforced its overly restrictive rules in a manner that discriminates against families with children. After completing testing of the subject property, the FHCSPS assisted the family in filing a discrimination complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) who referred the case to the Washington State Human Rights Commission (WSHRC) for investigation and/or mediation. Both state and federal fair housing laws prohibit discrimination because of familial status, the presence of children under 18, in the household. While the WSHRC held a fact-finding conference and conducted extensive investigation into the allegations, ultimately the parties were able to agree to resolve the matter and a pre-finding settlement agreement was successfully negotiated. The terms of the agreement included $5,000 in general settlement to the family, a waiver of over $1,000 prior costs the family was billed at move-out, and purging the family's tenant file of any negative information. Additionally, the housing authority agreed to keep the play area open at all times as well as make a previously unavailable courtyard accessible to all tenants and to post/revise signage. Management at the complex will also receive fair housing training. KCOCR Fair Housing Home Page Your comments about this Web site Updated: Jan. 4, 2005 King County | DES | OCR | News | Services | Comments | Search Links to external sites do not constitute
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