HOA bullies and targeting renters

Are the comments on a HOA-run Facebook page?

If the comments are on a HOA-run Facebook page, or if comments like this are made by anyone at any HOA meeting, then I believe HUD might be interested in hearing more. Discrimination on the basis of familial status (like having kids) and on the basis of disability appear to me to be the leading complaints HUD will address.

If the comments are on their private Facebook page, and the owner of the Facebook page does not indicate she or he is speaking as a HOA officer or HOA director, then I think HUD (one of the enforcers of the Fair Housing Act) would not be interested. To at least some extent, they are entitled to their opinion.

I would take screenshots of the Facebook pages, since the President's or anyone's private opinion may be evidence that tends to support more outward discriminatory conduct in their roles with the Board or as officers of the HOA.

I trust your renters are documenting everything.

Thank you! Yes, the president of the board runs the facebook page and it represents the HOA. I checked out a few other HOA facebook pages and they are all inviting and nice. They post about events and activities to bring the community together. Our president has nothing but negative things to post. Maybe this is why my condo continues to stay stagnant in price. Who would want to buy a place that has an HOA like this!

An HOA in my area got involved in a very similar situation to what Augustin describes, with pretty much the same outcome. HOAs don't mess with the Fair Housing Act if they know what's good for them.

KristineK2, thank you for the detail. I found the March 13, 2018 statement on the Facebook site. I also see the rules you cite posted at the condo's weebly[dot]com web site. In my experience, you are asking the right questions. Fair Housing Problem Areas that I see:

-- March 13, 2018 Facebook directive.
-- Prohibiting specifically children from playing in the parking lots and stairwells.
-- The email specifying children are not to disturb neighbors.

For a typical instance where HUD came down on a housing provider for violations like what you describe, see https://fairhousing.foxrothschild.com/2015/11/articles/discrimination/hud-files-new-familial-status-housing-discrimination-complaint/ . A smart HOA manager, Board and HOA attorney would have made sure the various directives were age neutral. But they did not.

I recommend seeking an attorney. I have seen HUD staff behave unprofessionally in the past. The low level staffers at HUD are (essentially) tenured civil servants. My expectations for the latter are low. As I noted above, the sense of many of my former neighbors is that HUD did not really move against my former condominium until the complainants hired a top-tier law firm. This law firm is very careful. It was also highly effective.

I often suggest people try certain remedies without an attorney. But in this case, I am not hopeful the condominium will respond to Fair Housing complaints from your tenant or you. In addition, without an attorney at my side, I would fear retaliation. Granted, retaliation for a Fair Housing complaint is a huge violation of federal law. You'll get results a lot faster with an attorney, though at a cost of several thousand dollars.

Maryland also has an agency that addresses violations of state Fair Housing law. See https://mccr.maryland.gov/Pages/Housing-Discrimination.aspx . You could also file a complaint with Maryland, at no charge.

Try googling for {Maryland "Fair Housing" attorney}, and law firms like the following will come up:
https://www.browngold.com/areas-practice/housing-discrimination

Maybe TimM11 has more to share about how best to proceed.

THANK YOU FOR THE INFORMATION! Unfortunately they have already hired a lawyer (which she stated she doesn't represent the HOA or property manger she represents unit owners), but she seems very one sided and can't ever seem to answer any of my questions I have. Luckily for them they don't have to pay for her since I'm guessing our HOA dues are paying for.

I didn't want to have to get a lawyer since this condo is already a money pit and even with a renter I come out of pocket monthly. However, maybe I am going to have to hire one because I feel they will just continue to harass my next tenant once this one leaves since she changed her 2 year lease to 1 year due to the fact that she can't stand getting harassed anymore.

Kristine Knight

Kristine, I see at your condo's weebly web site that the condominium claims it was originally built as the "premiere housing" for "Seniors and their families." Can you tell me what the "Seniors" part of this means? Are there any age restrictions? I should think not, given that you have a family with children renting your condo unit. Still, the wording on the weebly web site is weird.

The exact post by the condominium is: "Please remember that our walls and floors are very thin and at times when small children run around in the property on the second and third floors can disturb the neighbors below. Even during the daytime. We would like for our homeowners that have small children to please ask your children not to run around in your unit. We know small children have a lot of energy, and we recommend taking them to one of the local parks for some fresh air."

It does seem benign. And it once galled me too that HUD said a condominium could /not/ prohibit specifically and only kids from playing in the condo parking lot. I mean, it seems like a safety issue. But then one reads some of the case law involving HUD. From my review, HUD views postings like this to be saying, "We do not want your children to play on the grounds. This condominium restricts kids from being kids. This condominium does not like kids." Meaning if a family has kids, it can count on an extra dose of abuse from the management. Then it won't be such a friendly place to live for families with kids. Or at least, it will be a condo that is less friendly to families with "small children" than it is to families without "small children." HUD says this is discrimination on the basis of familial status.

If the condo's management had any brains, they would remove any reference to "small children" and adjust the wording to refer to "any human being" or similar.

I am just the messenger.