On November 29, 2021, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Inland Fair Housing and Mediation Board announced it has reached a Conciliation/Voluntary Compliance Agreement with National Community Renaissance; National Community Renaissance of California; Desert Meadows Housing Partners, LP; Victorville Housing Partners L.P.; and Cathedral Family Housing Partners, L.P., management agents and owners of four HUD-subsidized apartment complexes in southern California, resolving allegations that the property managers refused to rent to or provide adequate language services for applicants with limited English proficiency (LEP).
The case came to HUD’s attention when Inland Fair Housing and Mediation Board, a HUD Fair Housing Initiatives Program agency, filed four complaints after it conducted fair housing tests allegedly showing that:
- On-site managers at the properties refused to rent to LEP persons and told Spanish speaking prospective tenants that they needed to speak English in order to be added to properties’ waiting lists.
- LEP prospective tenants were also allegedly told that they had to provide their own interpreters.
Under the agreement, the management agents and owners of the properties will pay $9,000 to Inland Fair Housing and Mediation Board, submit documentation attesting to completion of fair housing training, and comply with HUD’s 2007 LEP Guidelines entitled “Final Guidance to Federal Financial Assistance Recipients Regarding Title VI Prohibition Against National Origin Discrimination Affecting Limited English Proficient Persons.”
This case involves landlords and tenants. It is not a lending case, but it is but a small leap to get from this case to a lending case.