Top 3 Fair Housing Risks for Property Managers in 2026 - The Fair Housing Institute, Inc.

Top 3 Fair Housing Risks for Property Managers in 2026

/ Assistance Animals, Compliance, Fair Housing Insiders, Reasonable Accommodations and Modifications, Training / By

Are you prepared for the increasing complexity of fair housing risks in 2026? Every year introduces new challenges that can become costly if not handled correctly. Whether you’re in leasing, operations, compliance, or leadership, understanding and mitigating the biggest risks is essential for protecting your portfolio. Here are the top three fair housing risks you must address this year, along with actionable advice to keep your company secure.

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Table of Contents

Fair Housing Risk #1: Assistance Animal Verification Remains a High-Stakes Headache

The challenge of assistance animals is not new, yet it remains one of the most frequent areas of risk and confusion for housing providers. The issue isn’t whether to permit them; they must be allowed when needed, but rather navigating the verification process in an era of fraudulent documentation.

The rise of online services and certain healthcare providers offering quick verification letters for Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) based on minimal interaction has complicated the landscape. Property managers are put in a tough spot: push back on a suspicious letter and risk a complaint, or accept it and potentially open the door to fraud. Here are three quick tips to keep in mind.

  • Understand the HUD Standard: Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has expressed disapproval of providers who issue recommendation letters based only on brief questionnaires or short meetings.
  • Identify Justification for Inquiry: If a verification letter appears to be a generic form from a provider with no actual knowledge of the resident/applicant, there may be justification for asking clarifying questions.
  • Establish a Consistent Process: If your company chooses to push back on suspicious verifications, you must have a consistent response process. This process should be created in consultation with an attorney, and all staff must be thoroughly trained on it.

Fair Housing Risk #2: Delayed Responses to Accommodation Requests (The “Slow Means No” Problem)

Timeliness is paramount in fair housing compliance, especially when it comes to reasonable accommodation and modification requests. The law is explicit: these requests must be responded to in a timely manner. Any undue delay, whether forgetting to send a form or failing to forward documentation to the compliance director, can be considered a violation of the Fair Housing Act.

HUD views a delay as a denial. If a request is not processed within an acceptable timeframe, it is automatically treated as a “No,” which is a ground for a complaint.

What constitutes a “timely manner”? While there is no exact number of days mandated by law, HUD generally views a reasonable response window as:

  • Two Weeks to 30 Days: This range, calculated from the date the request was made, is often viewed as reasonable by HUD.
  • Company Policy is Key: Every company should establish its own required timeline (e.g., 14 days, 21 days) and must stick to it consistently.

If a response falls outside the established time period, there must be a documented, justifiable reason for the delay. The reason must be outside of the housing provider’s control to be considered excusable. Processing these requests immediately and consistently is non-negotiable for risk mitigation.

Fair Housing Risk #3: Staff Turnover and the Threat of Compliance Knowledge Loss

The property management industry continues to face high turnover rates, sometimes exceeding 50% or 60% annually. When staff members leave, critical fair housing knowledge, experience, and even informal agreements walk out the door with them. This creates significant risk for the company, making mistakes almost inevitable. Protecting the company’s liability hinges on three critical areas: training, documentation, and retention.

  • Mandatory Initial Training: To minimize the learning curve for new hires, a best practice is to require comprehensive fair housing training within the first month of employment—or sooner. Allowing new staff to operate uneducated, even for a short period, leaves the company vulnerable to immediate liability.
  • Meticulous Documentation: Incoming staff are often unaware of previous conversations, verbal agreements, or incidents that occurred between the departing employee and residents. All staff must be diligent about:
    • Documenting all conversations and incidents.
    • Logging details in the resident file or company software.
    • Ensuring documentation is available for subsequent staff review.
  • Record Retention: While many companies dispose of employee and incident files shortly after a staff member leaves, this is a major compliance mistake. A better practice is to retain all pertinent documents like employee records, incident reports, and legal advice for at least two years.

Key Takeaways for 2026

To manage complexity and reduce liability in the coming year, property managers must focus on three core areas:

  1. Assistance Animals: Implement a consistent, legally vetted process for verifying requests and be prepared to challenge suspicious documentation with expert guidance.
  2. Response Time: Treat every accommodation/modification request as urgent and establish a strict, documented timeline for response (recommended two to four weeks).
  3. Training & Documentation: Prioritize immediate fair housing training for all new hires and enforce stringent, long-term record-keeping protocols to mitigate the risks associated with staff turnover.

Final Thought: Fair housing is consistently evolving, becoming more public, and often more expensive when mistakes occur. A commitment to consistent training, clear processes, and meticulous documentation is your best defense against the top three risks in 2026. Stay informed and prioritize your compliance program.

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