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two groups protected by the Fair Housing Act who are most likely to be harmed by <br />ordinances that go too far are victims of domestic violence and persons with disabilities, <br />particularly those with mental health disabilities. In addition, rental applicants denied <br />housing because of criminal background checks that are not sufficiently tailored, may also <br />have their rights violated under the FHA. If the city's ordinance mandates or even <br />encourages landlord actions violative of the FHA, the city may be liable as well. <br />When do requirements go too far? When an ordinance compels a landlord to evict a tenant <br />for multiple disturbances or police calls, and when the disturbances are due to domestic or <br />sexual violence where the tenant is the victim, requiring eviction could amount to <br />discrimination under the FHA based upon <br />sex. (It might also violate the federal <br />Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) <br />which prohibits evicting victims of <br />domestic violence living in federally <br />subsidized housing.)21 When an ordinance <br />compels the eviction of a tenant for <br />disorderly conduct which turns out to be <br />due to mental illness which could be reasonably accommodated through means other than <br />eviction, the FHA is also implicated.22 When an ordinance requires criminal screening <br />which is overly broad and inconsistent with HUD guidelines, there may also be a FHA <br />violation. All aspects of crime free ordinances should be reviewed to make sure they are <br />sufficiently detailed to ensure these forms of overreaching are avoided. <br />21 See also, Minn. Stat. 504B.205, protecting a tenant's right to seek police and emergency assistance. In the case <br />of Mid Continent Management Corp v. City of Brooklyn Park, the court determined that the city's code <br />requirements imposing greater obligations on landlords whose properties generated more "incidents" violated <br />Section 504B.2015 (Hennepin County District Court File No. AP 03-008617 (3-18-04). <br />22 Note that there are some exceptions to these rules. For example, current users of illegal drugs are not <br />considered persons with disabilities under the Fair Housing Act, and therefore cannot qualify for reasonable <br />accommodations. <br />32 <br />