A Tennessee HOA has agreed to pay $156,000 to settle a lawsuit against the association alleging violations of the Fair Housing Act. The Association refused to grant permission to an owner to build a therapeutic space for two children with Down syndrome. The Association failed to grant the reasonable accommodation, in this instance a reasonable modification, to create the space. After years of effort to obtain approval and multile denials, the family finally move out of the neighborhood and sold their home at a loss.

The Fair Housing Act is a field of landmines for a homeowners association, condominium, or townhome community. It is critical that the association engage competent legal counsel when anyone asks for an “accommodation” related to a disability. The failure to handle these requests properly or to grant some requests can result in serious fines, penalties, and awards of attorney fees against the association. Morris Sperry has worked on dozens of Fair Housing Act matters and fully understands how to navigate the process of receiving, analyzing, and responding to a request for an accommodation.