SYRACUSE — Five fair housing organizations — including CNY Fair Housing — have filed a complaint in federal court against the owners of 40 senior housing properties in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio. The Clover Group, a senior housing provider based in Williamsville, New York, is accused of charging tenants fees or higher rent for accessible parking spaces, ground-floor apartments and other accommodations such as grab bars or proximity to elevators.
Along with three residents of Camillus Pointe Senior Apartments, CNY Fair Housing and similar organizations in Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Cincinnati filed a suit March 30 in United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, Syracuse Division. The plaintiffs claim that Clover Management, Welltower, Inc., and other related entities violated the federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 and civil rights laws in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
In addition to Camillus Pointe, Buckley Square Senior Apartments in Salina and Morgan Square Senior Apartments in Clay are named in the lawsuit. Senior living complexes in New Hartford and Binghamton are named as well.
Sally Santangelo, executive director of CNY Fair Housing, said the Camillus Pointe residents were referred to CNY Fair Housing.
“We first began looking at Clover properties because of charges for reserved parking spaces for people with mobility impairments or other disabilities who had asked for that as reasonable accommodations,” said Santangelo.
According to the complaint, Clover properties were charging as much as $350 for designated parking spaces for disabled tenants. The fair housing organizations also allege that Clover “representatives routinely tell residents and applicants that the company does not provide designated parking spots at their multi-family, senior living complexes for anyone, including people with disabilities.”
In addition, Clover is accused of charging $15 to $25 in monthly fees for ground-floor units, bath and shower grab bars, or units close to elevators. Santangelo called these fees “excessive and illegal,” especially for seniors on fixed incomes.
CNY Fair Housing investigated the reports of disability discrimination by interviewing tenants, reviewing lease agreements and conducting undercover testing, a practice in which trained testers pose as potential tenants or homebuyers to find out if landlords or brokers are discriminating against people of color, people with disabilities or low-income tenants. The other fair housing organizations conducted similar investigations.
“Together, the groups identified similar denials of reasonable accommodations at other Clover properties and a pricing scheme that targeted seniors with disabilities by charging higher fees for more accessible units,” read a joint press release from the five organizations.
Santangelo said fair housing organizations brought these discriminatory practices to the attention of the Clover Group and informed them of guidance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and other relevant case law.
“We’ve been working to try to resolve the parking issue for several years now,” she said.
A lack of accessible parking can put disabled seniors at greater risk of injury and isolation.
“In many cases, because they did not have the parking spaces they requested, they stopped going out as much. They started forgoing visits with friends and families. One stopped volunteering. They started going to church less,” Santangelo said. “They weren’t sure if they were going to be able to make it back to their apartment because of the distance they had to walk.”
Clover has yet to respond to the lawsuit, which asks for reimbursement of tenants for inflated rent, legal fees and punitive damages, as well as a court order to halt charging for reasonable accommodations.
Santangelo encouraged people who believe they have experienced housing discrimination to contact CNY Fair Housing at 315-471-0420 or cnyfairhousing.org.
Some examples of disability discrimination in housing are:
- Restriction, denial or additional fees for reasonable accommodations
- Landlords asking intrusive questions about a prospective tenant’s disability
- Lying about the availability of housing or denying housing to someone with a disability
“Seniors face limited housing choices, particularly if they have disabilities,” Santangelo said. “I just want to make sure people understand that they have rights and we’re available to assist.”
