HUD, Arizona Housing Providers Settle Over Discrimination Claims

PHOENIX, AZ — The company that owns Roosevelt Plaza Apartments in Phoenix will pay $1,000 to a woman who claimed that it violated federal law by not providing her with necessary language services.

The woman, who is from Chad and has limited English proficiency, filed a complaint alleging that the building's owner, MGM Investment Company, and its property manager violated the Fair Housing Act and Title VI of the Civil Rights of 1964.

MGM Investment Company allegedly did not provide the woman with the language services she needed to make informed decisions about her housing, U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) officials said in a news release.

Additionally, the complaint alleged, the respondents insisted that she sign English-language housing documents despite her inadequate spoken and written English skills.

Per an agreement with HUD, the company will pay the woman $1,000 and will give $500 to each household with limited English proficiency, up to a total compensation of $34,000, HUD said in a news release.

Additionally, MGM Investment Company will have to provide interpretation services and post signage at entrances to the property in English, Somali, Arabic, Kinyarwanda, Tigrinya, and Spanish stating that the service is available for free to current and prospective residents.

MGM must also develop and implement a language access plan to provide translated documents and have its employees attend fair housing training, HUD officials said in a news release.

"Having access to important information related to federally-financed housing, such as details about application procedures and the terms of lease agreements, shouldn’t depend on being fluent in English," Demetria McCain, HUD’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, said. "Title VI requires housing providers to make this information available to all applicants and tenants, regardless of what language they speak, and HUD is committed to ensuring that they meet that obligation."

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on national origin by recipients of federal financial assistance — Roosevelt Plaza Apartments is a recipient of HUD funding — and the Fair Housing Act prohibits housing providers from discriminating against persons because of their national origin.