Another Landlord Settles Fair Housing Lawsuit; Pays $25K To Settle Allegations That It Refused To Rent 1-Bedroom Apartments To Single-Parent Households With One Child, But Would Rent Same Units To Two-Adult Households

From the U.S. Department of Justice (Washington, D.C.):

• The Justice Department and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices of the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan [] announced an agreement with the owners and operators of seven Michigan apartment complexes to resolve allegations that they discriminated against families with children in violation of the Fair Housing Act.
  
  The lawsuit was filed on Nov. 19, 2015, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The lawsuit alleged that the defendants, including the rental manager Sudi Hopper, as well as the corporate entities that own the complexes, Parkside East Inc., Holt Manor Inc. and Kelly Manor Inc., discriminated against families with children by prohibiting them from renting one-bedroom units in the defendants’ apartment complexes.
  
  The allegations were based on evidence generated by the Fair Housing Center of Southeastern Michigan, which had testers posing as prospective residents contact the defendants and ask to rent one-bedroom apartments. Testers who said that they wanted to rent an apartment with their child were told that children were not allowed in one-bedroom units.(1)  The Fair Housing Center filed a lawsuit, which was resolved separately.
  
  Under the terms of the consent decree, which still must be approved by the court, the defendants will establish a settlement fund of $20,000 to compensate victims of their discriminatory practices. The defendants will also pay $5,000 in civil penalties to the United States. In addition, the defendants will eliminate the restrictions on children that they previously imposed at the seven complexes that they own and operate.

For more, see Justice Department Settles Housing Discrimination Lawsuit Involving Seven Michigan Apartment Complexes.

For the lawsuit, see United States v. Parkside East, Inc.

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(1) See Justice Department Sues Three Michigan Apartment Complexes For Discriminating Against Families With Children:

• [T]he testing revealed that Hopper did not allow single parent households with a minor child to live in a one-bedroom apartment, but did allow households with two adults to rent such an apartment.