CREJ

Page 6

— Property Management Quarterly — April 2017

www.crej.com

recent increase in Fair Hous-

ing Advocacy Groups testing

in Denver is catching many

landlords off guard and the

consequences for failing the

test can be severe.

The Federal Fair Housing Act was

enacted to protect people from dis-

crimination during the sale, financ-

ing or rental of housing or housing-

related services. A person cannot

be discriminated against based on

race, color, religion, national origin,

gender, familial status or disability.

Colorado state law additionally pro-

tects from discrimination based on

sexual orientation, creed, ancestry

and marital status.

In a 2012 Housing Discrimination

Study conducted by the U.S. Depart-

ment of Housing and Urban Devel-

opment, it was discovered that while

there were fewer cases of overt dis-

crimination since 1977, there were

other increasingly subtler forms

of discrimination being employed

against minority home-seekers. In

Colorado, the Denver Metro Fair

Housing Center is working to fight

some of the more subtle ways land-

lords may be discriminating.

Their mission is to eliminate hous-

ing discrimination and to promote

fair housing choices for all people.

One way the Denver Metro Fair

Housing Center carries out its mis-

sion is by assisting housing seekers

and others in the resolution of com-

plaints of housing discrimination.

One of its methods for promoting

compliance with fair housing laws

is working with fair housing advo-

cacy groups to send

out testers. So the

question is, can

you pass the test?

Testing occurs

when a tester ini-

tiates a pretend

housing transac-

tion. The testers

are trying to make

sure that landlords

are complying with

the law, which

means that the

information the

testers gather can be used against

properties in housing discrimination

proceedings. One common way for

the Denver Metro Fair Housing Cen-

ter to test a property is by using the

paired testing method. The paired

testing method employs two testers

who initiate a housing transaction,

both of whom are the exact same

except for one characteristic that

falls under the above-mentioned

protected statuses. For example, one

tester may have a child while the

other does not.

However, testing does not have

to be an elaborate scheme or even

conducted in-person. A tester can

simply call or email the property to

inquire about something that would

indicate their status. For instance,

a tester could call an apartment

complex and ask if the “no pet

policy” includes service animals or

he could ask about the racial make-

up of the neighborhood. The wrong

answer to these types of questions

could raise a red flag about the

property to a fair

housing tester.

The testers often

will respond to

a rental or sale

advertisement.

Those advertise-

ments also must

comply with fair

housing standards

and therefore land-

lords should be

very aware of how

they market their

properties and the

phrases they use.

Additionally, everyone who has the

potential to speak with a prospec-

tive renter should be up to date

on what the property website and

advertisements market.

While properties may not set out

to discriminate, landlords could

find themselves the subject of a dis-

crimination suit when they have not

taken proper care to protect them-

selves. The goal of a landlord should

not be to identify these potential

testers, but rather their focus should

be on taking steps to ensure they

are systematically complying with

fair housing regulations. A landlord

can leave herself vulnerable to a dis-

crimination complaint even though

there was no intent to discriminate,

but instead based on a mishandled

phone call, email or in-person inter-

action.

One way for a property manager

to ensure he passes a tester’s inves-

tigation would be to make sure that

everyone working for the property

is properly trained and educated

on the law. Everyone who has the

potential to come into contact with

people seeking to rent a property

should be educated on the law and

be trained to answer questions in an

accurate, but legally harmless way.

While training may take time

and the type of issues that result in

discrimination suits can be decep-

tively small, it will cost much less to

train employees on how to properly

answer questions from potential

renters than the cost of defending

one’s self against a discrimination

complaint. The potential penalties

for violating fair housing laws can

include fines, punitive damages and

attorney fees, not to mention the

time, effort and emotional turmoil

that is involved in defending against

such claims.

Obviously, testers will not be

identifying themselves, nor will

agencies give a property manager

or landlord a heads up, so the best

way to think about a fair housing

test is like a surprise pop quiz. Just

like any quiz, the best way to pass

is to be prepared.

Property managers do not have to,

and should not, wait for the Denver

Metro Fair Housing Center to test

them, but rather property managers

would find it worth their while to

test their teams on their own. Being

prepared could save landlords from

a costly mistake. If landlords and

building staff remain committed to

keeping up with current fair hous-

ing laws they should easily pass the

fair housing test.

Can your team pass the fair housing test?

Legal

Donald “Corky”

Eby

Attorney, Robinson

and Henry PC,

Castle Rock

Caroline Knight

DU law student,

law clerk, Robinson

and Henry, Castle

Rock

COLORADO

ATHLETIC

CLUB

CENTENNIAL

AIRPORT

SHOPS AT

VALLAGIO

INVERNESS

GOLF

COURSE

INVERNESS

HOTEL &

CONFERENCE

CENTER

PARK

MEADOWS

MALL

CENTENNIAL

PROMENADE

Inverness Drive East

County Line Road

Dry Creek Road

LIGHT RAIL

SF PLAUSIBLE!

200,000 CONTIGUOUS SF PLAUSIBLE!

| FULL FLOORS OF 24,000 SF & 38,000 SF | SEVERAL OPTIONS BETWEEN 3,000 SF & 12,000 SF

188 INVERNESS DRIVE WEST

ENGLEWOOD, CO 80112

RANDY SWEARINGEN

| 303.521.7354

| rswearingen@RISEcrea.com

JEREMY REEVES

| 720.274.8376 |

jreeves@RISEcrea.com

Commercial Real EstateAdvisors

2 Inverness Drive East, Suite 200 | Englewood, Colorado 80112 | 303.799.9500 |

www.RISEcrea.com

EXCELLENT HQ OPPORTUNITY!

• Over 200,000 SF Contiguous in

188

• Growth to over 250,000 SF

• Adjacent

180

site/The Edge

= 176,000 SF of Future Growth!

• Campus setting totaling 433,000 SF!

PEAK TO PEAK

MOUNTAIN VIEWS!

THE EDGE