Friday, September 22, 2023

Legal Department

The Legal Department area helps landlords and property managers keep up with the ever-changing government regulation at the local, state and national level.

Man Who Threatened to Kill His Landlords Sentenced to 40 Years

Not Renting To Felons Could Be Discrimination, Says Justice Department

The U.S. Department of Justice last week weighed in on the issue of landlords categorically not renting to felons saying it can be considered discrimination and a violation of Fair Housing Act. The Justice Department...
Lying About An Emotional Support Animal In Utah May Become A Misdemeanor

HUD Charges Landlord With Discrimination Over Veteran’s Emotional Support Dog

An Army veteran, who served tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, was told he could not keep his emotional support dog in an apartment complex and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban...

Seattle Restricts Landlords’ Questions About Tenant Criminal Backgrounds

The Seattle City Council has passed an ordinance 8-0 to bar landlords from using criminal records to screen tenants based on past arrests or criminal convictions, with the exception of sex offenders, according to a...

Landlords Appeal Ruling In Tenant Relocation Lawsuit

Portland landlords, who lost the first round in a lawsuit against the Portland tenant relocation ordinance back in July, have filed an appeal to the judge’s ruling.The two Portland landlords last February claimed the...

Landlords Settle Fair Housing Pet Discrimination Case For $72,000

Northern California landlords have settled pet discrimination allegations that they and their agents discriminated against a female tenant with disabilities who requires an assistance animal, according to a release from the U.S. Department of...
Washington Courts Launch Eviction Resolution Program

Portland Landlords Lose First Round In Suit Against Relocation Ordinance

A judge has ruled in Circuit Court in Portland against landlords who had challenged the city’s relocation ordinance passed earlier this year. Judge Henry Breithaupt, a tax court judge sitting in Circuit Court, upheld the...

Rent Control And No Cause Evictions Bill Dies In Senate

Controversial legislation to remove the state-wide ban on rent control in Oregon and to set new rules for no-cause evictions has died in the Oregon Senate, according to reports. The bill, HB 2004 , passed...

Man Who Shot Portland Property Managers Sentenced to 13 Years

A man who shot two employees working as property managers at the Cascadian Terrace Apartments in Portland during an eviction last December has been sentenced to 13 and a half years in prison, according...

First in Time Lawsuit: Yim et al. v. City of Seattle

By Evan L. Loeffler The First in Time lawsuit continues. The City of Seattle filed an answer to the plaintiffs’ complaint in early April essentially denying all relevant allegations and claiming the matter should not...

3 Ways Property Managers Can Protect Themselves From Potentially Violent Tenants

What property managers and owners can learn from the shooting last year of two property managers in Portland following the eviction of a tenant. By John Triplett The two property managers who were shot by a...