A fair housing case came in involving a mother and son who have been residing in the same apartment since 1994. The mother is in her 80s and has been diagnosed with cancer. The son is in his 40s and has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. His symptoms have been in remission for over 20 years and he has been medication compliant. In fact, he takes care of his mother as her health continues declining.
Due to a concern about her son being able to manage the affairs of the apartment should she become hospitalized again, she requested a reasonable accommodation to add her son to the lease. Her request was declined and she was told that he couldn’t be added to the lease because he has schizophrenia.
She contacted DRLA and an official letter was sent to the apartment owner. After negotiations failed, and the owner stated that he would not rent to her son because he has schizophrenia, a lawsuit for housing discrimination was filed in the Western District of Louisiana. During depositions, all three defendants made discriminatory statements on the record regarding her son and that he “cannot be on the lease without his mama” because he has a mental illness. The case was won by a summary judgment motion which granted the declaratory relief that he be added to the lease and the injunctive relief that the apartment complex immediately stops discriminating against them. Everyone is relieved that he is no longer at risk of eviction if his mother passes away.
