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HUD ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT WITH MICHIGAN APARTMENT COMPLEX OWNERS TO SETTLE COMPLAINTS OF HOUSING DISCRIMINATION AGAINST FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN

WASHINGTON, D.C. – August 27, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that the owners of Shelby Park Manor apartment complex in Shelby Township, MI, will pay $100,000 as part of an agreement resolving allegations that the property’s on-site manager refused to rent to families with children.

The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to discriminate in the sale or rental of housing based on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, or familial status.

“For 25 years, federal law has made it illegal to deny housing to families simply because they have children.  Likewise, the Fair Housing Act sets forth the standards  ’55 and over’ communities must meet if they are to exclude families with children,” said Bryan Greene, HUD’s Acting Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “HUD will continue to educate the public, seek voluntary compliance, and enforce these provisions of law.”

The case came to HUD’s attention when the Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit (FHCMD), a non-profit fair housing organization that receives HUD funding, filed a complaint with HUD alleging that testing they conducted revealed that Shelby Park Manor’s property manager refused to rent to families with children.

The complaint followed a series of fair housing tests conducted by FHCMD. In several of the tests, Shelby Park Manor’s property manager allegedly told testers that the complex was a community for persons 55 years of age and older and that she could not accommodate persons with children.

Under the terms of the agreement, Shelby Park Manor will pay $100,000 to FHCMD, develop and implement new policies, standards and procedures that do not discriminate against prospective tenants because of their family status or race, meet the requirements of the Housing for Older Persons Act if claiming to be senior housing, and provide fair housing training for its property manager.

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HUD’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all.
HUD is working to
strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the
need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build
inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business.
More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at
www.hud.gov and
http://espanol.hud.gov
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Contact:
Shantae Goodloe
(202) 708-0685