Civil rights commission did its job in Jeyte case
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DIANE Chang’s March 14 and March 17 columns about the “uncivil” Hawaii Civil Rights Commission appear to praise landlord Albert Jeyte for opposing the commission’s efforts to enforce civil rights laws. By focusing on Jeyte’s three-year legal battle and huge legal fees, Chang over-looks that Jeyte violated our state fair housing law and ignores the concerns of the Hobbs family, the victims of his illegal discrimination. She also ignores the public policy behind the familial status protection in the fair housing law — giving families with children an equal opportunity to rent a home. Jack and Misayo Hobbs and their two young children moved to Hawaii in 1993. For several weeks they looked at many rentals. Some were too expensive, others were run down or in less desirable locations. Jeyte’s Manoa rental house was just what they wanted. It was affordable, had a large yard, was away from the street, and was located near good schools and their work. It was also large enough for them. Chang states that Jeyte used “common sense and the prerogative of a private landlord” to decide that people can’t sleep in living rooms and that the house was too small for four people. She suggests that Jeyte was justified in setting a three-person occupancy limit. However, given the small housing units in Hawaii, it has been historically necessary and “common sense” for families to sleep in living areas, and many continue to do so today. Furthermore, according to city and county Building Department and state Department of Health rules, the house could be occupied by four people. And, as Chang was aware, both agencies agreed that the house was large enough for the Hobbs family and that living rooms could be used for sleeping. The commission’s position is that occupancy limits must be based upon applicable county or state occupancy rules. This is because a landlord’s “common sense” and “prerogative” are subjective factors that can allow them to set arbitrary occupancy limits which effectively exclude families with children. Under state and federal law, it is unlawful to deny a rental because of familial status — the presence of minor children in a household. More : starbulletin.com |