JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES SETTLEMENT WITH MONTANA RETIREMENT COMMUNITY REGARDING VIOLATIONS OF FAIR HOUSING ACT

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department today announced a settlement with the owners and managers of Riverview Villa, a retirement community in Forsyth, Montana, regarding violations of the federal Fair Housing Act.

The proposed consent decree, filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, alleges that the defendants violated the federal Fair Housing Act by discriminating on the basis of disability.

Specifically, the consent decree alleges that the defendants - Tamarack Property Management Co.; Forsyth Development Foundation, Inc.; the city of Forsyth; as well as individuals involved in the management of the property - refused to allow a disabled resident, now deceased, to make reasonable modifications to his unit. The defendants also refused to grant the resident reasonable accommodations, even though such reasonable modifications and accommodations were necessary to comply with the Fair Housing Act.

“Enforcement of the Fair Housing Act is critical to ensuring that persons with disabilities have adequate access to housing throughout the United States,” said J. Michael Wiggins, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. “We commend the owners and managers of Riverview Villa for cooperating with the Justice Department in resolving this matter.”

Under the terms of the settlement, the defendants have agreed to:

• pay $98,000 in monetary damages;
• permit reasonable modifications of any rental unit;
• make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services which may be necessary to afford residents the full enjoyment of the units; and,
• establish non-discriminatory policies and procedures for receiving and handling requests for reasonable accommodations and/or reasonable modifications.

Persons who believe they have been victims of housing discrimination should contact the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) at 1-800-669-7777 or the United States Department of Justice at 1-800-896-7743.

Additional information is available on HUD’s website at www.hud.gov <http://www.hud.gov> and the Justice Department website at www.usdoj.gov/crt/housing/index.html <http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/housing/index.html>.

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