Even if a black tenant’s family was subjected to racist comments and verbal abuse by a white tenant’s family, the black tenant can’t sue the landlord, says the Ohio Supreme Court. The black tenant claimed she kept an extensive record of the harassment and reported each incident in writing to the landlord. However, the landlord (a public housing authority) allegedly didn’t do anything. An Ohio law prohibits landlords from discriminating against tenants because of race. However,

A condominium association can prohibit owners from displaying any objects on or in front of their doorways – including Christmas decorations and crucifixes, says a federal appeals court in Chicago. In this case a woman sued because the condo rule had prohibited her from placing a traditional Jewish mezuzah on her doorpost. She claimed this amounted to religious discrimination. But the court said that the rule was valid as long as it was a blanket ban

Homebuyers, businesses, and residential and commercial tenants are all showing interest in “green” buildings these days – those designed to save energy, use sustainable materials and have less of an impact on the environment. Many buyers and renters are willing to pay a little more for a green building – especially if they can recoup their money through energy savings. But if you’re serious about going green, think carefully about the legal aspects. You’ll want to

Wondering which remodeling projects are most likely to pay for themselves in terms of resale value? The latest edition of Remodeling Magazine’s annual survey of builders and real estate agents is out, and it offers some answers, both nationally and for different regions. Of course, every house, every community, and every remodeling project is different, and the results will vary widely from home to home. But the national averages make for interesting reading. Nationally, the project

A homeowners association in a development could prohibit homeowners from leasing their homes, says the Indiana Supreme Court. In this case the homeowners association sued an owner for renting her house, which violated the terms of her deed. (The homeowner had broken her hip and moved to a nursing home, and wanted to rent her house to help pay her nursing home costs.) The homeowner argued that the “no-lease” provision in the deed was illegal. She

Some people borrow money from their parents or other relatives to purchase a house. If a relative has enough money on hand to be able to finance a home purchase, this can be a very “friendly” alternative to a traditional mortgage. In addition, for some people without a sufficient down payment or credit history, it might be one of the few ways to arrange buying a home. If you borrow money from relatives and you plan

A landlord can’t put a clause in a lease that says it won’t be liable if a tenant has a slip-and-fall injury, says the Idaho Supreme Court. The law on this issue varies from state to state, but the Idaho ruling is interesting and points out that landlords need to be very careful if they want to limit their responsibility for injuries. The lease in this case said that the landlord was not liable for any

A landowner can sue a city for announcing that it was going to take some property by eminent domain, and then doing nothing else for a long time. That’s the result of two recent decisions by the highest courts in Nevada and Missouri. In the Nevada case, the city of North Las Vegas announced that it was going to condemn an acre of a business’s property for a flood control project. However, the city did nothing

The Federal Reserve Board has issued a number of new rules for home mortgages that are designed to protect consumers. The rules apply to “subprime” mortgages and to some “Alt-A” mortgages (which are given to buyers whose credit is less than ideal but is better than subprime). The rules include: Lenders cannot offer a mortgage unless they first verify the borrower’s income.

If you take out a second mortgage or a home equity line of credit, be aware that it could affect your estate plan. The reason: Many people plan to leave their house to one child, and the rest of their property to their other children (or other heirs). But their will doesn’t say specifically whether the child who inherits the house will receive it subject to any debts, or whether the debts must be paid off