The holiday season often means family visits, longer stays, and plenty of activity around your community. While it’s a time for celebration, it’s also a period when fair housing compliance can be easily overlooked. Property managers and housing providers must ensure that their guest policies are enforced fairly and consistently, especially during the holiday season.
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Equal Enforcement of Guest Policies
Every resident has the right to have guests. However, if your community has a policy limiting overnight stays or visit durations, that rule must apply equally to all households. Selectively enforcing guest limits,intentionally or not, can lead to fair housing complaints. Perception matters just as much as intent. Stay consistent, and make sure your entire team understands and applies your policy the same way for every resident.
Visiting Assistance Animals
One of the most common questions during the holidays involves guests who bring service or emotional support animals. Even if your property doesn’t allow visiting pets, you cannot automatically deny a guest’s assistance animal. Such a situation qualifies as a reasonable accommodation request under the Fair Housing Act. Management should follow the same verification and response process used for residents. Denying the request without review can quickly become a compliance issue.
Temporary Parking Accommodations
What if a guest with a disability,such as a visiting grandparent using a wheelchair or walker, needs accessible parking near the building? This, too, can qualify as a reasonable accommodation request. You’re not required to assign a space to a guest permanently, but if your property layout allows flexibility (like open or unassigned parking), temporarily designating a spot may be a reasonable step. Each situation should be evaluated individually and documented as part of your accommodation process.
Keeping the Holidays Fair
The takeaway for property management teams is simple: handle every request and enforcement consistently and in good faith. Whether it’s guests, assistance animals, or temporary accommodations, these situations should be treated with the same care and documentation as any resident-based request.
The holidays are already stressful—don’t add a fair housing complaint to your list. Review your guest policies, train your staff, and ensure everyone understands how to apply fair housing principles even in festive situations.
Happy holidays—and happy training!
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