Under the Fair Housing Act and Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, harassment of an individual or family based on their protected class is unlawful discrimination. Sexual harassment is also treated as unlawful discrimination under federal and state fair housing laws. Harassment can be written, verbal, or other types of conduct, and it does not require physical contact to be considered illegal.
Housing providers are responsible, not only for their own conduct, but for the conduct of their employees and agents and are responsible for preventing harassment and taking steps to stop harassment if it occurs. Landlords can also be held liable for the actions of third parties, such as other tenants, if it can be shown that they knew or should have known of harassing behavior based on a protected class and did not take any action to correct it when they had the ability to do so.
The Fair Housing Act covers two types of harassment: quid pro quo and hostile environment.
Hostile Environment Harassment
Hostile environment harassment involves subjecting a person to unwelcome conduct that is severe or pervasive, such that it interferes with or deprives a person of the right to use and enjoy the housing. Hostile environment harassment does not require a change in the economic benefits, terms, or conditions of the housing-related transaction. Unwelcome offensive or sexual conduct, remarks of a sexual nature, or unwelcome touching by a landlord or a landlord’s employee, constitute a hostile environment and are unlawful. Neither psychological nor physical harm must be demonstrated to prove that a hostile environment exists. Even a single incident of harassment may constitute hostile environment harassment if it is severe enough to interfere with the use and enjoyment of housing.
Hostile environment harassment may include:
- Racial slurs, jokes, or comments.
- Threatening words or images to engage in ethnic intimidation
- Unwelcome sexually explicit text messages and photos
- Unwelcome touching
- Comments about people with disabilities.
- Destruction of religious decorations
Quid Pro Quo Harassment
Quid pro quo (meaning something for something) involves subjecting a person to an unwelcome request or demand and making submission to the request or demand a condition related to the person’s housing. An unwelcome request or demand may constitute quid pro quo harassment even if the individual acquiesces to the request or demand. Just one incident of quid pro quo harassment is enough to constitute unlawful harassment.
Quid pro quo harassment may include:
- “Go out with me and I’ll reduce your rent”
- “Go out with me and I’ll give you new appliances”
- Demanding sexual favors in exchange for housing, rent reduction, or making repairs.
If you are experiencing harassment based on any of the protected classes, you can contact the Housing Equality Center of Pennsylvania for counseling and a confidential assessment of your case including enforcement options. You can contact us here. For more information about your rights and what kind of evidence to preserve in a fair housing discrimination case, click here.
What Should Housing Providers Do to Minimize Harassment Claims?
Under the Fair Housing Act, if a tenant is subjected to harassment based on their race, national origin, disability, sex, or other protected class, a landlord is required by law to address the issue and to prevent the harassment from continuing. Failing to stop or prevent a tenant from harassing another tenant because they are a member of a protected class, when the housing provider knew or should have known the harassment was occurring and had the power to stop it, can leave a housing provider legally liable.
All allegations of harassment should be taken seriously and immediate, concrete, documented actions should be taken to stop the harassment from occurring. The housing provider should address the problem in writing to all parties. A warning should be issued to the person who is perpetrating the harassment to immediately cease and desist. If the problem persists, there must be additional steps taken to try to end the harassment. Keep copies of all correspondence. Document any and all steps that have been taken to address the harassment. Call the police if the situation warrants and get a copy of the police report. Documentation is critically important in case a fair housing complaint is filed for failure to stop harassing behavior.
A well written lease will have a clause that states that tenant harassment is a breach of the lease which can result in eviction. If a lease specifically states that harassing behavior will not be tolerated, then a tenant who is harassing another tenant may be violating the lease and be subject to eviction. A tenant who is being harassed by another tenant may decide to break the lease and move out. If the landlord files in court for unpaid rent, the tenant will need to demonstrate that the landlord was violating
the terms of the lease by failing to enforce the right to quiet enjoyment of the property or neglecting to prevent discriminatory harassment. Housing providers will want to be able to present evidence that they did everything you could to address the problem of protected class-based harassment between the tenants.
Housing providers should have a non-discrimination and sexual harassment policy for all employees, agents, and tenants and ensure that all employees, agents, and tenants are familiar with the non-discrimination and sexual harassment policy and understand the consequences for violating the policy. This policy should prohibit retaliation against anyone who reports harassment or makes a complaint of harassment. The policy should also prohibit the use of slurs, jokes, threatening words, images or comments relating to or directed towards member of protected classes (race, religion, sex, disability, etc.). Sexual harassment and sexually connotative talk and images should be expressly prohibited.
The Housing Equality Center of Pennsylvania provides free technical assistance to housing providers. To request technical assistance with a harassment situation or any other fair housing issue, click here.
The work that provided the basis for this publication was supported by funding under a grant with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The substance and findings of the work are dedicated to the public. The author and publisher are solely responsible for the accuracy of the statements and interpretations contained in this publication. Such interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views of the Federal Government.
