September 5, 2012
A recent press release issued by the FHA/HUD announced charges against a Florida homeowner’s association for policies the press release claims are in violation of the Fair Housing Act.
According to HUDNo.12-145, “The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced…that it is charging a Gibsonton, FL, homeowners association and its Tampa-based former management company with violating the Fair Housing Act by subjecting a family to different rental terms and conditions because they have six children.”
The charges allege, according to the press release, “that Townhomes of Kings LakeHomeowners Association (HOA), Inc., and Vanguard Management Group, Inc., violated the Fair Housing Act by telling the family that they had too many people living in their rental townhouse and threatening to evict them if they didn’t reduce the number of occupants based on an occupancy policy that permitted only six people to live in a four-bedroom home.”
The FHA reminds borrowers, landlords, and homeowner’s associations that the Fair Housing Act makes it “unlawful to deny housing or impose different rental terms and conditions based on disability, race, national origin, color, religion, sex, or familial status. Overly restrictive occupancy policies may unlawfully discriminate against families with children by preventing them from living in a home.”
An investigation by HUD revealed the Kings Lake homeowner’s association occupancy policy “prevents a significant percentage of Florida families from living in its housing.The occupancy ordinance in Hillsborough County, which includes Gibsonton, would permit up to eleven occupants in the townhome.”
“Homeowners associations and management companies have an obligation to ensure that their occupancy standards do not violate the Fair Housing Act,” said John Trasvi
Joe Wallace has been specializing in military and personal finance topics since 1995. His work has appeared on Air Force Television News, The Pentagon Channel, ABC and a variety of print and online publications. He is a 13-year Air Force veteran and a member of the Air Force Public Affairs Alumni Association. He was Managing editor for www.valoans.com for (8) years and is currently the Associate Editor for FHANewsblog.com.
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