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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rental properties and provide fair housing training for its employees. The case was referred to the Division after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) received a complaint, conducted an investigation, and issued a charge of discrimination.
On January 8, 2026, the parties executed a settlement agreement resolving the claims against Kurt Williams and his company Gearhead Properties, LC in United States v. Kurt Williams, et al. (S.D. Iowa). According to the terms of the agreement, Williams and Gearhead Properties have agreed to pay $315,000 to tenants who were harmed by Williams’ harassment and a $10,000 civil penalty to the United States. The settlement agreement permanently bars Williams from contacting the tenants harmed by his harassment and from managing residential rental properties. The Department’s lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa in January 2025, alleges that for more than two decades, property manager Williams sexually harassed female tenants at various rental dwellings throughout Davenport, Iowa. The suit alleges that Williams’ conduct included making unwelcome sexual comments and sexual advances to female tenants, exposing his genitals to female tenants, requesting sex or sex acts from female tenants in exchange for tangible housing benefits like reductions in rent, and taking adverse housing actions, such as initiating evictions or refusing to make repairs, against female tenants who objected to and/or refused his sexual advances. The Department’s lawsuit also named as a defendant Gearhead Properties, LC, the owner of the rental dwellings where the sexual harassment occurred. The lawsuit alleges that Gearhead Properties is vicariously liable for the sexual harassment committed by