An affordable senior housing complex in Arizona is facing a lawsuit for allegedly telling prospective residents who were white or black that they most likely would not be approved for move-in because they were not Chinese.
The allegations, if true, would mean that Hong Ning House in Phoenix was in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act and the Arizona Fair Housing Statute, which prohibit discriminaton based on race and other factors, according to the Southwest Fair Housing Council, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, filed Oct. 11. Hong Ning House participates in the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program, according to online records.
The case began, according to SWFHC, when plaintiff Darell Tennon, who is African American, applied for residency in October 2017 and allegedly “was told by an employee at the complex that he should go apply at other complexes because the owners of this complex are Chinese and takes mostly elderly Chinese people as tenants so his chances of being accepted into the complex were slim to none.”
Tennon subsequently found housing elsewhere but reportedly notified SWFHC of his experience. The council then used “testers” to see whether they would be discriminated against.
One tester, a white man, pretended to be looking to rent a unit and was told “since he was not Chinese that he would most likely not be approved for tenancy at the complex,” according to the lawsuit, which McKnight’s Senior Living obtained a copy of. A second, black, tester reportedly “received inadequate service … and was not allowed or encouraged to apply for residency at the complex,” the complaint said.
Biltmore Properties, which manages, leases and operates the community and is a co-defendant in the lawsuit, had not responded to a request for comment from McKnight’s Senior Living by the publication deadline. Reiko Kragness, the on-site manager of Hong Ning House, however, told the Phoenix New Times that she was the person who screened Tennon for possible residency at a time when there was a waiting list.
“You can ask anyone in here, I never discriminate against any nationality,” she told the media outlet.
Kragness told the outlet that the complex has some black, white and Hispanic residents, although most of the residents are Asian.
The plaintiffs are asking that the defendants be ordered to develop a policy that prohibits discriminaton based on race and to train employees on individuals’ rights under the Fair Housing Act. They also are seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
Other defendants are the Phoenix Chinese Senior Citizens Association, owner of Hong Ning House, and Raiko LNU, an on-site management company.
