Non-Profit Group, Fair Housing Testers Shake $40K Settlement Out Of Virginia Landlord To Resolve Housing Discrimination Complaint Alleging A Refusal To Factor In Social Security Disability Income When Qualifying Tenants For Rentals

The Virginia non-profit fair housing organization Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia, Inc. recently announced

• Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia, Inc. (HOME) settled a housing discrimination case with W.S. Carnes, Inc., owner of Meadowbrook Apartments complex in North Chesterfield. The case alleged that Defendants violated the federal Fair Housing Act for failing to accept Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) as income. The complaint contended that refusing to accept disability income for housing discriminates against someone because of their disability, which is a violation of the Fair Housing Act.
  
  In March 2014, a Hopewell woman brought to HOME’s attention Meadowbrook’s policy against accepting SSDI as a sole source of qualifying income. After an investigation that included fair housing testing, HOME filed a formal complaint with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in March, 2015. In the complaint, HOME claimed that this policy constituted housing discrimination against people with disabilities because 100% of SSDI recipients are disabled.1 W.S. Carnes, Inc. responded to the complaint and denied that it discriminates against any tenant or prospective tenant on the basis of disability.
  
  HUD proceeded with the investigation and facilitated the settlement. The settlement resolves all claims in the case. Part of the settlement includes a $20,000 fund that Meadowbrook Apartments will set aside to make reasonable modifications to the units or complex as requested by people with disabilities or on its own initiative. Another $20,000 will be used to compensate HOME for the time and resources used in the investigation.
  
  In addition, W.S. Carnes, Inc. will train relevant staff at all of their rental properties on fair housing laws. It will also market Meadowbrook’s housing opportunities and its reasonable modification fund to Richmond-area disability advocacy groups. The fund will help make units and common areas at Meadowbrook more accessible to people with disabilities, and could include features such as ramps, grab bars, widening of doorways, and other improvements.
  

For more, see Housing Discrimination Complaint Settles for $40,000 (Meadowbrook Apartments in Chesterfield County changes policy).