Hicks v. Bellemere Properties LLC

Latoya Hicks, a tenant with a disability, requested to keep an emotional support dog in her New York apartment managed by Bellemere Properties LLC, which enforced a strict no-pets policy. Despite providing a letter from her healthcare provider confirming her need, the landlord refused the accommodation and threatened eviction. Hicks filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which investigated and found cause to believe discrimination occurred. The U.S. Department of Justice subsequently filed a lawsuit alleging violations of the Fair Housing Act. The case centered on the landlord's denial of a reasonable accommodation.

The case settled on October 4, 2018. Bellemere Properties LLC agreed to pay $40,000 in damages to Hicks, adopt a comprehensive reasonable accommodation policy for assistance animals, and mandate fair housing training for its employees.

Whether Bellemere Properties LLC violated the Fair Housing Act by refusing to grant Latoya Hicks a reasonable accommodation to keep an emotional support animal despite documentation of her disability-related need.

The settlement reinforced the legal duty of housing providers to accommodate tenants with disabilities, including permitting emotional support animals. It served as a deterrent against blanket no-pets policies that fail to consider reasonable accommodation requests and highlighted the consequences of disability discrimination in housing.