RALEIGH, February 15, 2017 – The Plaintiffs and Defendants in a federal housing discrimination lawsuit announced today that they had settled, resulting in dismissal of the federal complaint. The lawsuit alleged that plaintiffs had been discriminatorily evicted from a mobile home as a result of being in an interracial relationship. The defendants in the case denied the plaintiffs’ …
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Registration Ends 2/21/17 for CLE on Housing Discrimination and LGBTQ Community
Registration is now open for a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) program titled “Expanding Equality – The LGBTQ Community and Housing Discrimination.” The program, which will provide attorneys with 4 CLE credits, including 1 ethics credit, will be held on Friday, February 24, 2017, at Elon University Law School, in Greensboro, North Carolina, from 9:30 am …
HUD Announces Final Rule to Make All Public Housing Smoke Free
On November 30, 2016, HUD announced that it was issuing a final rule to make all public housing smoke-free. The rule covers cigarettes, cigars, pipes, and water pipes/hookahs, but not e-cigarettes, and covers living units, indoor common areas, administrative offices, and all outdoor areas within 25 feet of housing and office buildings. The rule will …
SkyHouse Apartments Settle Fair Housing Cases for $1.8 million: Money to help make homes more accessible for people with disabilities
On September 26, 2016, Legal Aid of North Carolina (LANC) announced that it had settled housing discrimination complaints against the architects, builders and owners of the SkyHouse apartment buildings in Raleigh, Charlotte, and eight cities in other states. The complaints, which were filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), alleged that …
HUD Issues Final Rule to Ensure Equal Access to Housing & Services Based on Gender Identity
On September 21, 2016, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a final rule designed to ensure equal access to individuals in accordance with their gender identity in programs and shelters receiving certain HUD funding. The rule requires that operators of single-sex shelters and other projects that receive funds from HUD’s Office of …
HUD Announces Rule Regarding Harassment in Housing & Protections For Domestic Violence Victims
On September 14, 2016, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a final rule setting out legal standards under the Fair Housing Act for sexual and other forms of harassment in housing. HUD and courts have long held that harassment in housing or housing-related transactions on the basis of race, color, national …
HUD, HHS, DOJ Issue Joint Letter re Immigrant Access to Housing & Services
On August 5, 2016, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), issued a joint letter regarding immigrant access to housing and services. The letter reminds recipients of federal funds that certain housing and services, such as emergency …
Justice Dept. Publishes Final Rule to Restore Broad “Disability” Definition for ADA
On August 11, 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a final rule to amend its Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations in order to incorporate the statutory changes to the ADA set forth in the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA), which had taken effect on January 1, 2009. According to a press release issued …
HUD Increases Civil Penalty Amounts for Fair Housing Violations
On June 15, 2016, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published new inflation-adjusted civil penalty amounts for individuals or entities that have been found to have violated a variety of different housing-related laws, including the federal Fair Housing Act. The new civil penalty amounts will apply to violations of the Fair Housing Act …
Fidelity Bank Agrees to Invest $1 Million to Settle Discrimination Complaint
On April 22, 2016, the Fair Housing Project of Legal Aid of North Carolina (LANC) announced that it had settled a fair housing complaint it had brought against North Carolina-based The Fidelity Bank. The complaint, which had been filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), had alleged that African American prospective borrowers …