THE BEST THING TO DO IS TO SEND ANYONE WITH QUESTIONS TO THE LEASING OFFICE.
breaking an item in the process. It isn’t a part of the job description and should, therefore, not be done. STEERING Encouraging or discouraging someone from possibly moving into a property, a certain area, or even a specific unit is known as illegal steering. It could be as simple as answering a question pertaining to the kind of people living within the property. The best thing to do is to send anyone with questions to the leasing office. REQUESTING PREFERRED PARKING Requests for preferred parking spaces are handled in the leasing office since they could be considered a reasonable accommodation. It could become a violation if answered without keeping the Fair Housing Act in mind. This is why there should be some training for employees so they don’t discourage a resident nor give out confidential information pertaining to another resident who may already have this accommodation.
REASONABLE MODIFICATIONS A resident asks a maintenance employee to perform several modifications to his apartment that
the resident says are needed because of his disability. The maintenance employee tells the resident he’s done similar work for another resident and instructs the resident to put in a work request, but he is told by the office staff that the resident will need to have the work done by a contractor and will be expected to pay for the work. The resident is angry because he thinks he’s being treated differently than the resident who had the work done by the maintenance employee. How does fair housing training for maintenance professionals come into play here? Training regarding reasonable accommodations, the American with Disabilities Act, and communications skills would definitely help your maintenance professional be ready for these types of situations. MAINTENANCE REQUESTS Many housing providers send their leasing agents and managers to fair housing training because it’s good business to do so. We like to remind our readers that it’s also a good business practice to train your maintenance employees on the types of fair housing issues that may arise. The following are examples of the kinds of fair housing cases that involve maintenance employees.
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