Grandparents and other caretakers often come to us when they think they have a guardianship case. Sometimes, they really have a housing discrimination or “fair housing” case. The Fair Housing Act protects “familial status” or if there is a child in the home. This is a subtle, common form of housing discrimination.

What does housing discrimination look like in practice?   

Let’s set the scene: Freddie Mac is a loving grandpa to his granddaughter, Ginnie Mae. Freddie agrees to take care of Ginnie for a while because her mom, Fannie Mae, is going through some tough times. Fannie signs a note to let Freddie take care of Ginnie. Freddie wants to find a new place so that Ginnie can have her own room. He goes to look at apartments and finds a great place! He applies. The phone rings! The property manager says that everything checks out. They want to rent to him, but there’s just one thing: They can’t rent to him until he gets guardianship over Ginnie. 

That is housing discrimination. 

Do we think this property manager hates children? No. Does it matter? Not really. 

Housing providers cannot discriminate based on “familial status” under the Arkansas or U.S. Fair Housing Act.

That means you can’t deny someone access to housing because they: 

• Are pregnant;

• Are trying to get custody over a child; OR

• Have a child in the home (whether they are that child’s biological parent or simply caring for that child with written permission of the parent or legal guardian).

Written permission is not the same as a guardianship. Someone who wants a guardianship must go to court and get a judge to grant them a guardianship. Even when everyone agrees, guardianships take time and money that many people often do not have. Caretakers may have other great reasons to get a guardianship. However, housing is rarely one of them. 

Housing providers might worry about whether an informal permission slip from the parent is legitimate. That is why we advise our clients to get “power of attorney” over the child. Many attorneys can finish this simple legal document in less than 10 minutes. Unlike a guardianship, there are no courts involved, and the parents can take the child back at any time. To be clear, the fair housing law does not require this extra step. However, it can avoid a lot of unnecessary disagreements

There are exceptions.

Not every housing provider is subject to the Arkansas or U.S. Fair Housing Act. Familial status protections do not apply to housing for older persons, such as income-based housing for people over 62. 

The Center for Arkansas Legal Services may be able to give you free legal help if you are struggling with these legal issues in Arkansas. For more information, you can call our Helpline at (501) 376-3423. 

AUTHOR: KENDALL LEWELLEN, STAFF ATTORNEY FOR THE CENTER FOR ARKANSAS LEGAL SERVICES