CPM Legal and Risk Management 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination based on which protected classes?
- Race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, disability (Correct answer)
- Race, color, income level, age, sex, occupation
- Race, religion, credit score, marital status, disability
- Race, color, national origin, employment, familial status
Correct answer: Race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, disability
The federal Fair Housing Act (1968, amended 1988) protects seven classes: race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability.
Question 2: What is 'steering' under Fair Housing law?
- Directing tenants toward or away from neighborhoods based on protected characteristics (Correct answer)
- Providing false information on a rental application
- Charging different security deposits to different applicants
- Refusing to show a unit to an applicant
Correct answer: Directing tenants toward or away from neighborhoods based on protected characteristics
Steering is the illegal practice of guiding prospective tenants toward or away from certain neighborhoods based on their protected class membership.
Question 3: Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), what is a 'reasonable accommodation'?
- A physical modification to the unit at the tenant's expense
- A change in rules, policies, or services to enable a person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy housing (Correct answer)
- Any modification requested by a tenant regardless of cost
- Installation of accessibility ramps in all common areas
Correct answer: A change in rules, policies, or services to enable a person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy housing
A reasonable accommodation is a change in policies, practices, or procedures that gives a person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy housing.
Question 4: What is the legal standard known as the 'implied warranty of habitability'?
- Landlord must maintain the property in livable, safe, and sanitary condition (Correct answer)
- Landlord guarantees the property will appreciate in value
- Tenant must keep the unit in perfect condition throughout the lease
- Landlord must replace all appliances annually
Correct answer: Landlord must maintain the property in livable, safe, and sanitary condition
The implied warranty of habitability requires landlords to maintain rental units in a safe, sanitary, and livable condition throughout the tenancy.
Question 5: What is 'constructive eviction'?
- Eviction based on a court order
- When the landlord's failure to maintain the property forces a tenant to vacate (Correct answer)
- Mutual agreement to end a lease early
- Eviction after 30-day notice
Correct answer: When the landlord's failure to maintain the property forces a tenant to vacate
Constructive eviction occurs when a landlord's neglect makes the property uninhabitable, effectively forcing the tenant to leave without formal eviction proceedings.
Question 6: Which federal law requires disclosure of lead-based paint hazards in housing built before 1978?
- The Toxic Substances Control Act
- CERCLA
- The Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act (Title X) (Correct answer)
- The Clean Air Act
Correct answer: The Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act (Title X)
Title X (the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992) requires sellers and landlords of pre-1978 housing to disclose known lead paint hazards.
CPM Legal and Risk Management 1
The Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination based on which protected classes?