Marital Status Should Not Be a Problem

QUESTION: My significant other and I have been looking for a new place to live. We are a committed same-sex couple, and I’m surprised how accepting most of the prospective landlords we’ve talked to have been. Our search continues because we just haven’t found the right type of setting for us yet.

One strange thing did occur recently, and I would like an answer about the legal correctness of a question on a rental application. We really like this one flat we saw and actually asked the manager for an application. One of the questions on the application was “Marital Anniversary Date.” This seems strange to me. How are couples in our position, or heterosexual couples living together, or just roommates suppose to answer this one? Why do they need/want to know anyway? Is this legal?

ANSWER: Treating married and unmarried couples (of any type) differently is strictly prohibited under California law by both the Unruh and Fair Employment and Housing Acts. Therefore this question should be eliminated from any rental housing applications.

Since the question is on the application you were given this would tend to imply that management is concerned about marital status in regards to who they will rent to. Please contact the Fair Housing Agency in your area and relay the situation to them. They can contact the management and or conduct an investigation to remedy the situation.

Family Rejected for Being Over Quota

Q: An apartment manager rejected my application for rental housing solely because I have children. Although the manager says she likes to rent to families, she claims that the owner of the property wants no more than 20% of the apartments to be rented to people with children. She told me that I could be on the waiting list for the next available “family unit.” Can she do this? I want to move in now.

A: Quotas specifying the number of children in an apartment building or complex are illegal. According to the new Fair Housing Amendments Act, families have the same rights to obtain housing as do any other renters, and no quotas may be established. If you otherwise qualify to rent an available apartment, there is no reason why you should have to wait for a family to move out before you can move in. Consult your local Fair Housing office for more information about this type of discrimination and how to deal with it.

Landlord Just Wants the Facts

Q: My husband and I are trying to become renters again after many years as homeowners. We are amazed at the intrusive questions commonly asked on rental applications now. Do landlords have the right to ask for bank account and credit card numbers? We have excellent credit and references. Shouldn’t these be enough?

A: The rental application is designed to help the landlord assess the ability of prospective tenants to pay rent on a consistent basis and to provide information that can help the landlord if the tenant defaults on payment of rent. For this reason you may be asked to provide bank and credit card numbers, driver’s license and Social Security card numbers, information about your employment and/or any other stable source of income, tenant information, both past and present, as well as references. While these questions may seem intrusive to many renters, their use on rental applications has become common practice. You may be able to find a landlord who will accept your application with less than full information, if she feels that the information you are willing to provide qualifies you to her satisfaction. However, a landlord is also justified in rejecting an incomplete application if she chooses to do so.

Farm Workers Have Valid Complaint

Q: My cousin and her family are migrant farm workers and are living in a labor compound by the fields where they work. When I went to visit her I told her that I did not believe her small apartment was up to the building codes and encouraged her to seek assistance from the city where she lives. My cousin is afraid that the apartment may be condemned, and she could be put out on the streets, or lose her job if she complains. What can she do?

A: Any housing that is sub-standard needs to be brought up to code immediately. Under the Implied Warranty of Habitability, the landlord has an obligation to repair conditions that seriously affect the rental unit’s habitability.

It is important for your cousin to understand that she has a right to rent a safe and habitable home. There are agencies who can assist her, or there are several remedies she can exercise on her own, such as “repair and deduct,” or “rent withholding.” Your cousin should not feel intimidated in exercising her legal rights, and there are laws to protect her from retaliation by her landlord.

If, in the worst case scenario, the property is condemned, there are programs to assist your cousin with finding alternative housing. Rental housing must be safe and habitable, this is a right dictated by law, not a privilege, and help is just a phone call away.

This column is prepared by Project Sentinel, a rental housing mediation service in Sunnyvale, Calif.