If you’ve been in the multifamily business for a while, you’ve no doubt heard this mantra when you attended your annual fair housing refresher course: “Treat everyone the same, treat everyone the SAME, treat EVERYONE the SAME!” While it was never good advice, with the current focus on Disparate Impact, it is now dangerous advice and the express lane to a fair housing complaint or lawsuit.
No longer are neutral policies automatically safe, and no longer can we deny occupancy to anyone with a felony conviction, or, in many areas, even check their background at all. The list of policies and practices affected by the application of Disparate Impact Theory continues to grow and as is the case with any compliance issues, ignorance is no excuse.
Join us as we focus on current industry best practices and what HUD is suggesting as guidance regarding criminal background checks. We’ll review the basics of disparate impact theory including the three-step burden shifting process, types of offenses, look-back periods and what is on the horizon for compliance.
Doug Chasick, That Fair Housing Guy™, is the former President of the Fair Housing Institute, Inc. With more than 49 years of investment real estate experience, he began as the Resident Manager of a 524-unit apartment property and has been the President or CEO of five real estate companies, responsible for portfolios of over 28,000 apartments, and more than 8 million square feet of commercial, retail and industrial properties. Doug was awarded his CPM® in 1979 and was a member of the IREM National Faculty for eight years. A Senior Instructor member of the NAAEI Faculty, he leads the Advanced Facilitator Training course, is the co-author of “Outstanding Facilitation…