Who’s the Fairest of Them All: Circuit Split Over Landlord Liability for Tenant-On-Tenant Discrimination Under the Fair Housing Act

This note explores a circuit split between the Second and Seventh Circuits regarding whether landlords and property owners can be held liable for postacquisition, tenant-on-tenant discrimination. This issue is one of first impression in recent years, resulting in divergent holdings. To address conflicting judicial approaches to an increasingly prevalent civil claim, this note argues for the necessity of a Congressional amendment to the Fair Housing Act (FHA), the law which generally governs housing discrimination. Specifically, the proposed amendment would recognize postacquisition discrimination as an actionable claim and append a test to the FHA for postacquisition liability as employed by the Seventh Circuit in Wetzel v. Glen St. Andrew Living Community. By amending the FHA, Congress will not only resolve this judicial conflict, but, more importantly, will define a property manager’s duty to tenants experiencing discrimination or harassment in their homes and provide them with a clear avenue for legal recourse