Church Violates Fair Housing Act In Trying To Set Up Sex Offender Program

Florida's sexual offender law, FL Stat Sec. 947.1405(7)(a)(2), provides that certain sex offenders who have been conditionally released from prison may not live, among other places, within 1000 feet of a public school bus stop. Matthew25Ministries, a prison ministry that has developed an after-care program for those charged with sex crimes, leased all the units in Pelican Lake Village apartments, a Palm Beach County (FL) apartment complex, intending to sublease them to sex offenders as they became available. However it could not do so while a school bus stop was located at the site.  The Ministry was unsuccessful in getting the school bus stop moved. Therefore it told families with children living in the apartment complex that they would be required to move out. Presumably that would eliminate the bus stop. The affected families filed suit in federal district court charging violations of the federal Fair Housing Act (42 USC 3604) that prohibits discrimination in rentals on the basis of familial status. In two opinions (full text 1,  full text 2) in Whyte v. Alston Management, Inc., (SD FL, Nov. 1, 2011), a Florida federal district court held that Matthew25Ministries, as well as the real estate management companies involved and their employees, are liable for violations of 42 USC 3604(a)-(c). Last Friday's Palm Beach Post reports on the decisions.