Huntersville, NC Apartment Complex Settles Housing Discrimination Complaint Alleging Disability Discrimination; Compensates Tenant

Legal Aid of North Carolina recently announced it had settled a housing discrimination complaint filed against Belamoor at the Park, LLC, GEM Management, LLC, and an individual property manager on behalf of an individual with a disability with limited mobility.  The complaint, filed with the North Carolina Human Relations Commission, alleged that the complainant had previously requested and been granted a designated parking space close to her apartment building as a reasonable accommodation, but that Respondents rescinded this accommodation in December 2022.  The complainant’s attempts to request that her parking space be returned were denied or ignored by Respondents.

Shortly after Legal Aid filed the complaint, Respondents provided the Complainant with a designated parking space.  Legal Aid and Respondents subsequently negotiated a settlement agreement.  Per the agreement, Respondents agreed to:

• Pay Complainant $55,000 in damages and attorney’s fees;
• Adopt a new reasonable FHA-compliant policy involving reasonable accommodation and modification requests; and
• Have staff attend fair housing training.

Respondents affirmed that their management policies, practices, and activities concerning real property are and shall continue to be in compliance with federal and state fair housing laws.  The laws prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, and disability.

“Legal Aid of North Carolina is proud to advocate on behalf of individuals whose rights under the Fair Housing Act have been violated. We will continue to fight on behalf of individuals with disabilities seeking reasonable accommodations so that they may have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy their housing,” said Michael Manset, Staff Attorney with Legal Aid’s Fair Housing Project.

Legal Aid of North Carolina’s involvement in this litigation was made possible in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program.