80/20 rule

SandyL4 (Florida)
Posts: 1

Posted:

we are in the process of renting our unit, we had a person that is 53 the office and president of the building said NO -
even though there are under 50 living there with out anyone in the apartment that is 55, they already exceeded there 20 % most of the units are owned by the association - todays day and age and the economy the 55+ in some areas are not smart for these are small inexpensive housing now the younder people could move there for it is more affordable then others that are not 55+, but my problem is we have someone and they wouldn't even speak to her, when the buildings have exceeded their quoter
would like to know who I can contact to have this investergated.

thank you
6-27-12

BruceF1 (Connecticut)
Posts: 2,535

Posted:

Sandy,

I'm not sure there's anything to "investigate" here.

It appears you are referring to Section 800, the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of several things, including age. However, it does allow for age restrictions in the case of "adult" (55+) communities. To be classified as an adult community the following conditions must be met:

"(C) intended and operated for occupancy by persons 55 years of age or older, and--
(i) at least 80 percent of the occupied units are occupied by at least one person who is 55 years of age or older;
(ii) the housing facility or community publishes and adheres to policies and procedures that demonstrate the intent required under this subparagraph; and
(iii) the housing facility or community complies with rules issued by the Secretary for verification of occupancy, which shall--
(I) provide for verification by reliable surveys and affidavits; and
(II) include examples of the types of policies and procedures relevant to a determination of compliance with the requirement of clause (ii). Such surveys and affidavits shall be admissible in administrative and judicial proceedings for the purposes of such verification."

It is not clear from your post whether you are stating that more than 20% of the occupants residing in the community are under 55 (which is NOT what is required), or that more than 20% of the OCCUPIED units fail to meet the occupancy requirements. Also, it is not clear to me whether you are referring to ALL of the occupied units in the community, or just those owned by the association.

Furthermore, your CCRs must contain occupancy requirements at least as stringent as those required by the FHA in order to meet the "intent" provisions (sub-paragraph ii quoted above) of the Act. Those CCR provisions must be adhered to by your board. To change from an adult community to an all-age community would require a change in your CCRs which most likely would require an affirmative vote by a large percentage of the unit owners. If the Association owns a large percentage of the units, that's not likely to happen.

In other words, you're stuck.

Your argument regarding this day and age and the economy is meaningless unless you have conducted some research to substantiate your claim, or you can point to some published study by a qualified individual or organization. Otherwise, it is only your unqualified opinion; nothing more. I might even agree with you, but that does not make the argument valid.