On April 30, 2015, HUD entered into a Conciliation Agreement with Piilani Gardens, LLC regarding alleged familial status discrimination at Piilani Gardens Apartments in Kihei, Hawaii.
Piilani Gardens is a family project, but two of the 18 buildings in the project were advertised as being “adult friendly,” meaning that families with children were not permitted in those buildings. If families in the “adult friendly” buildings have children, they were required to move to a building that permitted children.
Rule #4 of the community’s Rules and Regulations stated: “There is no playground for children on the complex. Tenants must supervise their children while they are in the common areas. Tenants are responsible for any damage to the premises caused by children.”
On December 14, 2012, the complex published a notice outlining ten problems relating to children, and stated: “In the future, if your child/children are observed breaking more plants/tree branches and/or damaging more Piilani Gardens Apartment property, you will be fined and assessed the cost of the damages caused by your child/children.”
On July 15, 2013, an agent of the property told a tester that separate bedrooms are required for children of different sexes. An ad posted on Craigslist on May 5, 2014, stated “Ground floor, adult only building $1505 per month. Heated water and … 2br/2ba 800 ft; 2 apartments available May 15.”
HUD filed a complaint against the property on July 10, 2014, alleging discrimination based on familial status.
The owners denied violating the law and stated that they were advised by the County Department of Housing and Human Concerns, which operates the HUD funded Housing Choice Voucher Program, that if there were a family with two children of different sexes, then a three-bedroom voucher was required so that each child of different genders would have separate bedrooms. They also stated that once they learned that this was no longer a requirement, they stopped informing applicants or tenants of the separate bedroom requirement.
The owners denied that the Craigslist ad was posted by the property. They also agreed to settle the case in order to avoid the cost of judicial proceedings, but admitted not guilt. The agreement requires the following:
- Owners will adopt and follow a new Housing Non-Discrimination Policy and Procedure Statement and provide copies of the policy to all employees;
- All employees are required to undergo live fair housing training from a reputable fair housing organization. The training will include instruction on non-discriminatory treatment of families with children;
- Tracking of the applications of all families to ensure that families with children are not being discriminated against and to provide a report to HUD every three months;
- Rule #4 of the Resident Rules and Regulations will be amended to state “Tenants are responsible for the conduct and behavior of all household members, visitors, and guests while they are anywhere on the property. Tenants are responsible for any damage to the premises caused by any household member, visitor, or guest.;”
- Families with children may no longer be prohibited from any buildings and all current tenants at the previously “adults only” buildings will be notified of the change;
- The owners may not require nor communicate a requirement that children of different sexes living at the property sleep in or have separate bedrooms; and
- The Owners must contract with a third-party to provide oversight to the terms of the agreement.
This Conciliation Agreement points out once again the dangers faced by housing operators if they implement rules that discriminate against families with children, including the requirement that children of different sexes have separate bedrooms. Owners and managers of multifamily housing properties should be aware that even if local housing agencies require separate bedrooms based on sex, it is a discriminatory practice. If you are told by a local housing agency that they will not issue vouchers for units where children of the opposite sex must share a bedroom, I recommend you lodge an objection with the agency and clearly document that the policy is not a policy of the property.