February 2009 Coach's Quiz

We have given you five rules on how to prevent fair housing trouble caused by outside contractors. Now let's look at how the rules might apply in the real world. Take the COACH'S QUIZ to see what you have learned.

INSTRUCTIONS: Each of the following questions has only one correct answer. On a separate piece of paper, write down the number of each question, followed by the answer you think is correct—for example, (1)b, (2)a, and so on.

And this month, there's an extra credit assignment: Judge for Yourself, a description of what happened in an actual court case. Test yourself on whether you think the community should be held liable, and then check the summary of the court's ruling to see how much you have learned.

COACH'S TIP: The correct answers (with explanations) follow the quiz. Good luck!

QUESTION #1

You have used the same plumbing contractor for many years. A resident calls about a plumbing problem and insists on being home when the plumber comes to fix it, but no one from your staff is available to escort the plumber to the resident's unit. You've never had any trouble from the plumber before, so there won't be any problem if you tell him to go to the unit on his own. True or false?

1. True.

2. False.

QUESTION #2

Your community needs some electrical work done quickly. When you call your usual electrical contractor, he says he's unavailable, but he recommends another contractor whom he knows will do a good job. The new contractor comes over right away, but he says he has to get to another job as soon as possible. What should you do?

1. Let him start working right away.

2. Explain your fair housing policy while taking him to see the problem.

3. Explain your fair housing policy, and ask him to sign an acknowledgement and indemnification agreement before allowing him to perform any work.

QUESTION #3

While passing by the pool on your way to show a unit to an applicant, you notice the landscapers taking their lunch break. Most of them are sitting under one of the only trees nearby, but two of them are standing by the fence trying to talk to some of the female residents sunbathing by the pool. You should:

1. Do nothing because no one has complained about them.

2. Check to see if they are still there when you finish showing the unit; if not, just forget about it.

3. Report what you saw to your manager.

EXTRA CREDIT: JUDGE FOR YOURSELF

Your community hires an independent property management company to act as your exclusive leasing agent and manage the property. The contract calls for the property management company to “perform all reasonable services requested by [the owner] in regards to operating, maintaining, servicing, and leasing the property.” It also provides that the property manager is to be the “sole tenant contact.”

One day, you receive notice that you are being sued for race discrimination under the FHA. Even though you are not being accused of any discriminatory actions, the complaint alleges that you are responsible for the discriminatory conduct of the property manager and its employees.

From reading the complaint, you learn that a leasing representative, who was an employee of the property management company, showed a unit to two African-American men. The men said they signed a one-year lease and paid an initial deposit.

Shortly before their move-in date, the men said that they dealt with another representative when they called about getting the keys to the unit. The complaint alleged that the second representative requested a larger deposit and suggested that they were not “the right fit for the building, because the ‘professional’ living downstairs would not like having unruly college-age residents living above him.”

A short time later, the men found out that the unit had been rented to someone else. When they went to get their deposit back, the first representative allegedly told them that they probably did not get the unit because the “professional” had called the management office to ask why the unit was being shown to “two black hoodlums” and said that he would not be happy if the unit was rented to African Americans.

Since you didn't do anything wrong—or even know about the men's race—you don't think it's fair that you should be held liable for the conduct of the property manager and its employees.

What will the court decide?