Harassment in rental housing is not only harmful to tenants and residents; it can also create legal liability for property owners and managers. Real estate professionals who work with rental housing can help prevent harassment and respond appropriately when concerns arise.
Preventing Harassment in Housing
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What the Law Protects
The federal Fair Housing Act and other laws prohibit harassment in housing because of sex, race, color, national origin, religion, familial status, or disability. State and local laws may protect additional characteristics. Agents, brokers, and property managers who understand what housing-related harassment can look like are better prepared to meet fair housing responsibilities.
* State and local laws may protect additional characteristics.
What Counts as Illegal Harassment?
Harassment involves more than rude or offensive conduct. Courts generally recognize two types of illegal harassment in housing:
Hostile Environment Harassment
Hostile environment harassment occurs when conduct is severe or pervasive enough to interfere with a person’s ability to access or enjoy housing.
Examples:
- Repeatedly yelling anti-Muslim slurs at a Muslim tenant.
- Taunting or threatening a person with a disability.
- Using pervasive racial epithets or defacing a home with racially derogatory or threatening words or images.
- Repeatedly sending unwelcome sexually explicit messages to a tenant.
Quid Pro Quo Harassment
Quid pro quo harassment occurs when someone makes an unwelcome request or demand as a condition of accessing, keeping, or enjoying housing.
Examples:
- Demanding nude photos before approving a rental application.
- Requesting sexual favors before making needed repairs.
- Threatening eviction because a tenant refuses sexual contact.
When Are Housing Providers Responsible for Harassment?
Housing providers are responsible for their own conduct and may also be held liable when their employees, agents, or contractors harass applicants, tenants, or residents, and the owner or manager knew or should have known about the conduct but failed to act. Some courts have also held housing providers responsible when they knew about tenant-on-tenant harassment and failed to take appropriate remedial action.
“Knew or should have known about the conduct but failed to act.”
Providers can be liable for harassment by the people who act on their behalf, and in some courts, for tenant-on-tenant harassment they knew about and failed to address.
Best Practices
Real estate professionals can help prevent harassment by setting clear expectations for rental operations and professional services.
Adopt
Adopt written policies prohibiting harassment in rental housing.
Educate
Educate employees, contractors, applicants, tenants, and residents about those policies and fair housing obligations.
Report
Create a clear process for applicants, tenants, and residents to report harassment.
Consequences
Establish consequences for employees, contractors, residents, or others who engage in harassment.
Enforce
Enforce policies consistently and document complaints, responses, and follow-up steps.
How Should Housing Providers Respond to a Harassment Complaint?
If a tenant, applicant, resident, or client reports harassment, an agent, broker, or property manager who owns, manages, or provides services for the property should take the complaint seriously and respond promptly.
What Retaliation Can Look Like
Any of these, because someone complained:
- Denying housing
- Increasing rent
- Withholding maintenance
- Harassing
- Suing
- Evicting
Taking harassment complaints seriously, documenting the response, and following written policies can help agents, brokers, property managers, and housing providers support safe housing environments and meet their fair housing responsibilities.
When a complaint raises legal questions, consult qualified legal counsel.