Disability-Related Housing Discrimination Case Settled

A federal housing discrimination settlement has been reached against a Virginia real estate developer, the National Fair Housing Alliance and Paralyzed Veterans of America announced.

The two groups claimed that HHHunt Corp. built several apartment complexes without respect for accessibility requirements.

HHHunt Corp. has agreed to make the complexes more accessible over the next three years and will pay its opponents’ attorney fees.

The lawsuit, under the Fair Housing Act, alleged that HHHunt engaged in “a continuous pattern or practice of discrimination against people with disabilities since 2002 by designing/constructing multi-family dwellings and common and public-use areas, without required accessibility features.”

Shanna L. Smith, president and CEO of the Fair Housing Alliance, stated that “when the thresholds for entry doors are too high or sidewalk slopes are hazardly steep, people with disabilities are effectively and illegally shut out.”

Bill Lawson, national president of Paralyzed Veterans of America is pleased that HHHunt has agreed to make the necessary accessibility changes. Paralyzed Veterans of America will also continue to ensure that housing discrimination is not tolerated anywhere across the country.