Addressing the needs for family housing

In 2016, the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii’s fair housing enforcement program uncovered that a private student housing provider was unfairly discriminating against families with children.

“We found through our testing that families with children were being turned away from Savio’s student housing. The settlement, after litigation in which we joined in a case by the Department of Justice, resulted in a very progressive family policy for relating to families in private student housing organizations that was much stronger than anyone was able to obtain in a settlement elsewhere in the country,” said Dan O’Meara, managing attorney for consumer and housing unit and director of Legal Aid’s Fair Housing enforcement program.

Around the country, families with children in private student housing would generally not be charged extra for children ages 2 years old or under. If the child is older than 2 years old, he/she would be charged as an additional person living in the unit.

“When others settled, they settled for policies that limit the age at 2 years old or maybe 4 years old. We were able to negotiate that a parent with a minor child, up to age 17, would not be charged extra for that child to live in the unit,” said O’Meara. This is all part of our efforts to address the needs for family housing in our community, in all circumstances.

READ THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE PRESS RELEASE