Many landlords in the United States impose a maximum two-person-per-bedroom residential occupancy policy. The federal Fair Housing Act (FHAA) makes overly restrictive policies illegal. New empirical evidence reported in my recently published article demonstrates that the two-person-per-bedroom policy substantially limits the housing choices of many thousands of families, especially Latinos, Asians, and extended families nationwide. In fact, this policy predictably results in prima facie discrimination in violation of the FHAA in many housing markets. Despite its widespread discriminatory effects, the two-person-per-bedroom standard is widely perceived as legally compliant. My article, “Beyond Two-Persons-Per-Bedroom: Revitalizing Application of the Federal Fair Housing Act to Private Residential Occupancy Standards,” challenges that false veneer of legality and urges the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to remedy the situation using its regulatory authority. And, if HUD fails to act, it encourages private plaintiffs to challenge the standard and provides guidance to courts in deciding these cases.
Read the article, “Beyond Two-Persons-Per-Bedroom: Revitalizing Application of the Federal Fair Housing Act to Private Residential Occupancy Standards.”
