February 2024 - Housing Equality Center

Regional Management Company Pays $32,500 for Refusing to Permit Reserved Parking Spaces for Residents with Disabilities

February 29, 2024

The Housing Equality Center of Pennsylvania (“HECP”) has entered into a conciliation agreement resolving a federal housing discrimination complaint against Marks and Company (“Marks”) and four apartment complexes in Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties for violating the disability portion of the federal Fair Housing Act. From September to December of 2021, HECP investigated four apartment complexes managed by Marks and found that the management company had a policy of denying reserved parking spaces to prospective renters with disabilities who requested an assigned space due to either mobility or cardiovascular conditions. In response, HECP filed a complaint with the Department

Philadelphia Apartment Complex Pays $20,000 for Refusing to Permit Assistance Animals for Residents with Disabilities

February 29, 2024

The Housing Equality Center of Pennsylvania (“HECP”) has entered into a conciliation agreement resolving a federal housing discrimination complaint against Westminster Arch Apartments (“Westminster”) for violating the disability portion of the federal Fair Housing Act. In October of 2021, HECP received an anonymous email stating that Westminster did not permit reasonable accommodations for assistance animals and requesting that HECP investigate the property for discrimination. In response, HECP conducted fair housing testing which confirmed the allegations reported by the anonymous complainant. Callers to the complex were told repeatedly that the building was pet free and that assistance animals would not