Expert On: Landlord/Tenant Law, Collections, Fair Housing, and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

About Robert Wise:
Bob Wise graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia Law School in 1975 and has been a member of the Missouri bar since that time. While practicing law, he specialized in representing property owners and managers. His activities in the bar include being chair of the Associate Division Committee of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association (KCMBA) and a member of the KCMBA and Missouri Bar committees on the civil law and procedure. In 1988, he obtained a Missouri real-estate broker’s license.

In 1995, he was one of 34 delegates from Missouri to the White House Conference on Small Business in Washington D.C.

Bob is a member of the Missouri Leadership Council of the National Federation of Independent Business, a member of The board of the Affordable Housing Management Association (AHMA), a former board member of the Community Associations Institute and a former board member of the Apartment Association of Kansas City. He was one of the first 50 people in the United States to be certified by NAHMA as a National Assisted Housing Professional. He has been the speaker at continuing legal education classes sponsored by the Missouri Bar, the KCMBA, and other groups. He is a frequent speaker to property owners and attorneys on the landlord-tenant law, collections, fair housing, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and related areas. In 1999, he was approved by the Missouri Real Estate Commission to teach a course number on the legal aspects of fair housing.

In 1997, he was a member of the Property Management and Tenant Relations Task Force of the Missouri Housing Development Commission.

In 1997, Bob wrote part of House Bill 361 and was directly involved in negotiating and promoting it through the legislature. This bill contained the first major changes in Missouri landlord-tenant law since 1949 and included new provisions for expediting evictions involving illegal drug activities.

In 1999, he was appointed by the presiding judge of the Jackson County Circuit Court to be on the Associate Circuit Court Committee and on the Circuit Court Advisory Committee.

In 1999, Bob became the full-time Executive Vice President and General Counsel of the Missouri Apartment Association. His duties included legal, educational, and legislative activities. He is editor of the Missouri Apartment Association’s “Red book,” a compendium of Missouri landlord-tenant law, and has drafted the MAA standard Missouri lease and other related forms.

Topic Description

Fair Housing

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO FEDERAL COURTS:
District Court, Circuit Court of Appeals, and Supreme Court.
Where does the law come from?

IMPORTANCE OF FAIR HOUSING TODAY:
Increased use of testers
Importance to all levels of management

MIGHT GET A COMPLAINT AGAINST YOU BECAUSE:
Complaint by applicant, tenant, etc.
Complaint by tester
Frivolous complaints
Person “felt” they were being treated unfairly

PUBLIC RELATIONS AND DIPLOMACY

PROHIBITED CONDUCT:
Refusal to show-misrepresenting availability
Refusal to take an application
Discouraging or encouraging the certain groups
Applying different standards
Steering
“Terms and Conditions”

ADS:
It is illegal to have any “notice, statement, or advertisement” that indicates discrimination or encourages/discourages any group.

RETALIATION

DOCUMENTATION

CONSISTENCY

WHAT PROPERTY DOES FAIR HOUSING COVER?

EXEMPTIONS
Protected Categories
Seven categories established by federal law
Other categories which may be created by state or local law

FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN
What is a family? What is a child?
Safety rules
Exception for elderly housing

DISABILITY

SCREENING FOR CRIMINAL RECORDS

“DISPARATE IMPACT”

HOW TESTERS TEST

THE COMPLAINT PROCESS

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS & PENALTIES