The Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit has filed a federal lawsuit against an apartment complex in Rochester Hills.
The suit says Cliffview Apartments bars anyone with a felony conviction from living in the complex regardless of when the conviction occurred. The lawsuit says that while landlords may require a criminal background check for potential tenants, federal law bars landlords from having a blanket policy that excludes anyone with a felony.
The fair housing center says a blanket exclusion would disproportionately shut out Black or African American applicants, in a violation of the Fair Housing Act. The center says the complex could instead use an individualized assessment, allowing people with a criminal record, but who pose no realistic threat to the community, to obtain housing.
In a statement, the Michigan State Housing Development Authority did not respond specifically to the Cliffview Apartments case, but said landlords are required to evaluate tenants individually, which is why the agency "supports the work of fair housing centers to help us shed light on whether landlords are following their Tenant Selection Plans and all applicable laws."
Cliffview Apartments did not respond to a request for comment.
