If a landlord does not enforce the rules in a consistent manner against all tenants in a large apartment complex, is that a fair housing violation?
If a landlord does not enforce the rules in a consistent manner against all tenants in a large apartment complex, is that a fair housing violation?
It can be a fair housing violation. For an obvious example, if the landlord is enforcing a rule only against people of a specific race, gender, religion, skin color, etc., then it would almost certainly be a fair housing violation. If a rule is enforced only against families with children, that would almost certainly be a fair housing violation.
However, let's say that we're talking about a parking rule, and the landlord only enforces the rule in one area of the parking lot, or only on weekends. Absent additional facts, that sort of arbitrariness or inconsistency is not going to be a fair housing violation, as it in no way relates to a protected right or status of the tenant. If a tenant lets one specific tenant pay rent late, because that tenant is a personal friend, it doesn't violate the fair housing rights of other tenants for the landlord to demand timely rent payments from them.