Recent Accomplishments Of The Housing And Civil Enforcement Section

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Recent Accomplishments Of The Housing And Civil Enforcement Section
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https://www.justice.gov/crt/recent-accomplishments-housing-and-civil-enforcem... ↗

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enforcing zoning provisions that treat religious uses less favorably than similar secular assemblies. The lawsuit alleges that the Church has outgrown its current facility and that the only suitable property in the Borough is located in the Borough’s C-2 Commercial District. This District does not allow houses of worship, but permits nonreligious assembly uses like theaters and civic/cultural buildings. When the Church approached the Borough about using the property for religious purposes, Borough officials allegedly told the Church that the Borough would not grant zoning approval and that the Borough did not “need any more Churches.” The Borough filed a motion to dismiss the Church’s lawsuit, arguing in part that the Church had failed to properly allege an equal terms claim under RLUIPA and that the Church was not sufficiently injured by the Borough’s conduct to assert such a claim. The statement of interest refutes these contentions, explaining that the Church has properly alleged an equal terms claim and that the Church, which cannot develop its proposed religious facility, has suffered a concrete injury. The court has not yet issued a ruling.
Rental and Sales Discrimination based on Disability
On April 30, 2026, the United States entered into a settlement agreement in United States v. Indian Oaks Apartments LTD, et al. (M.D. Ga.). The complaint, which was filed on October 23, 2024, alleges that the owners and property manager of an apartment complex in Fort Valley, Georgia violated the Fair Housing Act by failing, for over a year, to grant a mother's request for a reasonable accommodation to move to a ground-floor unit to accommodate her terminally ill child's mobility impairment, despite repeated requests and multiple available units. Russell Management Services