APARTMENT ADVOCATE
NATIONAL APARTMENT ASSOCIATION /
NATIONAL MULTIFAMILY HOUSING COUNCIL
When Apartment Owners Inquire about
Immigrants’ Legal Residency
ONSITE STAFF ARE NOT EQUIPPED
TO POLICE OR DETERMINE
THE VALIDITY OF RESIDENTS’
IMMIGRATION PAPERWORK.
I
mmigration is a subject that lately
has generated significant debate at
the federal level. As efforts to regulate
immigration in Congress continue to stall,
state and local policymakers are weighing in
on the issue on a more frequent basis.
While the issue is being used as a
political football at all levels of government,
there is one consistent outcome—property
owners and operators are required to comply
with a patchwork of onerous requirements
and face possible legal liability under fair
housing laws when it comes to screening the
immigration status of residents.
In many cases, the measures instituted
by state and local lawmakers pertain to
verification—similar to the E-Verify
requirements that apply to employers that
are engaged in federal contracts. Some
jurisdictions—such as the City of Hazleton,
Pa. — enacted ordinances that require
property owners and managers to verify
the immigration status of residents or face
violations and possible suspension of the
owner’s business license for noncompliance.
In the end, measures similar to
Hazleton were invalidated by the courts as
unconstitutional. Hazleton and several other
cities that followed its lead were ordered to
pay millions in legal fees to aggrieved parties.
For policymakers, the lessons learned remain
relevant to conversations about legislation.
Apartment owners and operators are in
the business of housing individuals in the
community. Apartment operators’ employees,
onsite staff, in particular, are not equipped to
police or determine the validity of residents’
immigration paperwork.
38 | TRENDS
FEBRUARY 2019
To complicate matters, owners and
operators could be subject to fair housing
violations for screening residents based on
immigration or citizenship status. NAA
filed an amicus brief (the process by which
third parties, outside of the parties to the
case, comment on issues of importance in
appellate court) on a legal case of national
significance in de Reyes vs. Waples Mobile
Home Park Ltd. The Fourth Circuit’s
ruling, in this case, would allow any
apartment owner or operator to come under
scrutiny and be subject to a fair housing
In stark contrast to the approach taken
by Hazelton, the state of California enacted disparate impact claim if the owner requires
applicants to provide a Social Security
the Immigrant Tenant Protection Act. The
law strictly prohibits owners from inquiring number or otherwise show documentation
about, disclosing or otherwise discriminating to prove legal immigration status as a
against an individual in housing on the basis condition of tenancy. The case could set a
legal precedent if the Court’s ruling were to
of their immigration or citizenship status.
stand or if it were adopted by other courts.
It also prevents local governments from
enacting legislation that compels apartment
NAA supports comprehensive
owners to comply with verification
federal legislation that would help
requirements or otherwise deny or interfere create predictability and consistency for
with an individual’s housing rights on these apartment owners and operators. As they
bases. If an owner violates the law, he or
consider immigration legislation, state
she may be required to pay damages to the
and local policymakers should recognize
resident, including a monetary award of six
the importance of resident screening in
to 12 times the monthly rent charged, at the
rental housing. Screening is essential to
Court’s discretion.
help owners manage their finances, assess
risk and protect the safety and security
Regardless of whether legislation seeks
of residents, employees and their assets.
to mandate or prohibit housing providers
In particular, lawmakers should avoid
from inquiring about the legal residency of
immigrants, both create potential challenges implementing measures that would restrict
for the apartment owners and operators.
the use of Social Security numbers or
Such laws can interfere with owners’ overall credit history or require housing providers
resident screening process and are not limited to authenticate the immigration status
to verification of immigration documents.
of prospective or current residents.
For example, according to California’s law,
Enforcement of such laws can create
owners and operators are prohibited from
administrative burdens for apartment
evicting a resident based on the failure to
providers, reduce the supply of available
pass a credit check or the inability to provide rental housing and further exacerbate
a valid Social Security number.
housing affordability issues.
Furthermore, policies that penalize
owners with suspension or possible
revocation of an apartment firm’s business
license have severe consequences for a local
community and its renters. If a housing
provider was stripped of the ability to
operate, consequences could include closures
of apartments in that company’s overall
portfolio as well as eviction or termination of
the tenancies of all existing residents. Such
policies would effectively reduce the supply
of available housing in a community.
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