Would ths be discrimination?

Question

I am trying to navigate the fine line between what is legal and not...lets say you have a multifamily property, and one family is responsible and clean, while the other lives in a disgusting pile of crap inside your unit....would it be discrimination to allow the clean family to own a pet and not the other?  this is hypothetical, but i have been thinking about this for some time..

Marc Freislinger · Answer

That would not be illegal, but when it comes to Fair Housing, it doesn't matter. What matters is how it can be interpreted. The only way for this to work is if both families are exactly the same. Same color, same religion, same race, same number of kids, etc. Otherwise the dirty family could scream discrimination even though you know it's not.

I've found that it's much better practice to treat everybody the same.

Account Closed · Answer

[[[[.....What is meant by " Protected Class " ? That to me sounds like one race is better than the other.....]]]]

Not under Fair Housing. Everyone gets treated the same and everyone gets the same protection. You can not say to an applicant "I won't accept you because you are a WASP". You can't say to a white guy, "I won't take you because you have children." They get to sue you for that just like anyone else. HUD can fine you for that just the same as if you'd said it to a Native American or Hispanic.

Pets are not a protected class. Service animals are, but pets are not. You can make any rules you want to about pets and it is not discrimination.

However, I can tell you exactly what will happen if you allow one tenant to get a dog and the other not. Your slobs won't even ask you. They will get a dog, too. They will get a neglected unhouse trained puppy of a breed that you don't want inside your building.

It can be very difficult to evict for reasons other than rent payments. So you might have trouble evicting the slobs, especially when they tell the judge that you allow pets in the other apartments. It's not discrimination, but judges like to take the path of least resistance. It's easier for them to throw the case out, so if they can find an excuse to throw it out, they will.

My suggestion: Save yourselrf some trouble. If you are going to take pets, only permit them in units that have fenced yards. Do not permit pets in any multi building unless all apartments are pets allowed.

Account Closed · Answer

thanks for the responses...it seems like the best thing to do is allow pets in yards in sfr, but stay away from them in multifamily apts...thanks again

Account Closed · Answer

what about socioeconomic class?  bc we all distinguish between higher end rentals and lower end rentals, but should we really be doing that?..or maybe that is just good business sense..what do you think?

Account Closed · Answer

thanks for the tips guys.

Account Closed · Answer

marc, i appreciate your feedback, although i still do not think it's realistic to treat everyone the same...i know there are some landlords on here that treat certain tenants differently depending on the socioeconomic level of housing...anyone else have an opinion?? thanks again marc

Account Closed · Answer

marc, would you allow a pit bull vs a poodle??  what about different housing in good vs bad areas?? would you allow pets in a 1,200 rental home vs a 400 apartment??  how about how you collect rent?  some landlords prefer to pick up cash at lower income areas while they allow their higher income tenants to transfer between bank accounts or just send the check.  i am not trying to berate you..i just do not think it's possible to treat EVERYBODY the same, and am wondering where i could draw the line, and feel comfortable treating someone differently...thanks for the replies

Curt Davis · Answer

What is meant by " Protected Class " ?  That to me sounds like one race is better than the other.

Michael Shadow · Answer

-Michael

Jon Holdman · Answer

If you have two tenants living in the same property, you can rest assured they will talk.  If you allow one to have a pet and refuse the other, they will figure it out.  Even if you did it on the basis of cleanliness, how can you prove that?  Its an opening for them to start complaining.  If you want to allow pets, have specific rules and collect a pet deposit.  Apply those rules equally.  If you want to have a policy that says pets are OK in SFRs with fenced yards, but not in other units, that's probably OK, too.

Would ths be discrimination?

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