Los Angeles Discrimination Lawyer for Housing Discrimination

No. The law doesn’t allow a landlord to require children to be supervised when outside unless there is a compelling reason to justify such. A “compelling reason” is not something trivial such as the landlord’s desire for peace and quiet, or that he does not want children running around unattended. Rather, a compelling reason is situation where the child would be in imminent danger if he wasn’t supervised, such as requiring supervision of young children in a pool. Otherwise, the landlord cannot require supervision of kids. The reality is that some landlords demand that children be supervised (even teenagers) because it’s their way to keep kids out of the common areas, thus ensuring a peaceful and quiet complex. This is not allowed. As one particular court noted, “Common sense also dictates parents are responsible for supervising the activities of their young children without the need for a written rule. Just as one who enters a national forest does not require a written rule stating it is unlawful to start a forest fire or one entering the Redwood forest does not require a written rule about cutting the old growth, neither does a parent need to be instructed by apartment rules not to leave a young child unsupervised.”

Continue Reading on Our FAQ Page >

No. It is against federal law for a landlord to evict someone who has filed a lawsuit for discrimination. The courts will not allow a landlord to evict someone in retaliation for them having filed a discrimination lawsuit.  This is true even if you were to lose your lawsuit.  Courts want people to sue for discrimination without having to worry about what will happen if they lose the case.

By the same token, you cannot be evicted for simply complaining to your landlord about illegal rules.   If a landlord threatens to evict you for complaining about rules, then such a threat is illegal.  You have legal rights.  You do not have to live under these types of conditions.   You can do something about it.  If your landlord has threatened to evict you for complaining about apartment rules, then you need to contact us to assist you.   Don’t be paralyzed with fear.  Nothing will happen to you if you act.  The law is there to protect you, not hurt you.

A landlord cannot require children to remain indoors. If a landlord requires a tenant to keep their children locked up indoors at all times, then this is illegal. A landlord may not penalize families who allow their children to play outdoors at the apartment complex. It is illegal for a landlord to claim that the peace and quiet of the tenants requires that children not play outside. Simply put, children are allowed to play outside and they may make reasonable noise while doing so. If a family is punished for their children acting like normal children (e.g. the kids aren’t lighting fire crackers or playing drums in the open courtyard), then this is illegal discrimination. One particular court ruled that a written apartment rule which stated “Children will not be allowed to play or run around inside the building area at any time because of disturbance to other tenants or damage to building property” violated fair housing laws.

In short, Federal and state fair housing laws guarantee families the right to let their children play outside in common areas. Children are allowed to laugh, play, make noise, and run when playing outside.   A landlord cannot stop this, even if other tenants claim that it interferes with their daytime sleep, or that elderly tenants don’t like children running around making noise.  You are free to allow your children to play outside and you cannot be evicted for having done so.  Don’t live in fear.  The law is on your side.