Phoenixville apartment complex pays $15,000 to settle discrimination lawsuit

Breckenridge Plaza Apartments, a 91-unit apartment complex on Nutt Road in Phoenixville, PA, agreed to settle a housing discrimination complaint brought by the Fair Housing Council of Suburban Philadelphia (FHCSP) after a compliance investigation uncovered discrimination against families with children.

In late 2009 and early 2010, Breckenridge Plaza Apartments placed a series of discriminatory advertisements (“Winter Special Price for Two Adults”) online for available two bedroom apartments. In response to the statements, FHCSP conducted a series of tests simulating the experiences of households both with and without children to evaluate compliance with the Fair Housing Act.

According to HUD's charge, owner Morris Zelikovsky told a FHCSP tester posing as a mother with a son that she would have to pay $775 for a two-bedroom apartment that had been advertised as renting for $740. Later that same day, Zelikovsky told a different tester posing as a married woman with no children that a two-bedroom apartment rented for $745 a month.

Read the full press release

Web site: Read the HUD charge

FHCSP's efforts in Bucks County to increase awareness about fair housing issues in local zoning were featured in a recent Intelligencer article.

Web site: Click here to read the full article

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As of July 2011, the FHCSP office has moved. Please update your records to reflect the new contact information:

Fair Housing Council of Suburban Philadelphia
455 Maryland Drive, Suite 190
Fort Washington, PA 19034
Phone: (267) 419-8918
Fax: (267) 419-8932

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Fair housing is not a privilege. It is a right.