GRAND FORKS (KFGO) – A housing discrimination case in North Dakota dealing with occupancy standards has resulted in a settlement. Advocates say it underscores the challenges families face in maintaining stable housing when access is scarce.
The High Plains Fair Housing Center said that Affordable Housing Developers Incorporated has agreed to pay 100-thousand dollars over a claim from a working mother from Mandan. The woman, who did not want to be publicly identified, said she was forced to vacate her townhome after updating her lease to note the recent birth of her fifth child.
The Fair Housing Center’s Nicki Green said the developer’s standards were too restrictive. The woman and her children had a three-bedroom unit and the maximum allowed there was five people per household.
Green says federal recommendations allow for more flexibility, and that the family’s living situation didn’t violate any city codes. The agreement was issued by the U-S Department of Housing and Urban Development. The complex wasn’t a HUD property, but the developers did receive federal funding.
As part of the settlement, the leadership of the development group denies engaging in any discrimination.
Comments