The National Apartment Association recently provided an excellent webinar titled “Fair Housing Disparate Impact:  Learn How the Supreme Court’s Decision Affects You”.  The two attorneys who presented (Harry Kelly from Nixon Peabody LLP and Mike Skojec from Ballard Spahr LLP) wrestled well with the topic of this relevant decision (that disparate impact is a facet of fair housing law) while at the same time making it clear that what this means and how it will impact our multifamily housing industry is not clear at all.  The webinar covered weighty topics that I will not even begin to try and explain (such as the dilemma of revitalization/ affordable housing – damned if you do, damned if you don’t; pending decisions that will interpret the Supreme Court decision; shifting burdens of proof; whether the HUD Rule on disparate impact is consistent with the ruling).  It is clear to me that these issues are way above my pay scale.

 

Where I found the webinar to be particularly helpful was in identifying where some real world issues may arise and how to prepare for them.  While no one professes to have a crystal ball, I will (with great appreciation to these to lawyers for their insight) share what I learned. 

 

Examples of anticipated future kinds of challenges:

 

 

 

What is clear is that where disparate impact in fair housing will take us is not clear at all.  But that is clearly not a reason to ignore the potential ramifications for our industry and at individual communities.