A lawsuit filed Thursday in Orlando federal court against developer Concord Court at Creative Village Partners Ltd. cites Fair Housing Act violations in 2019, the year that Concord Court began accepting tenants. The suit follows a complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development by three parents of children in the development.
The parents who are party to the suit note in the complaint how the management practices have affected them. One tenant reported that because her children could not have key fobs, she had to pause her search for work in the middle of the day to let them into their unit. Another said supervisors constantly harassed her children whenever they were inside the building but outside of their apartment.
Creative Village Partners developed Concord Court as part of a 256-unit mixed-income project, according to the complaint. Concord Court was partly funded with federal low-income housing tax credits. Ninety-three of the 116 units in the building are set aside for households with incomes of 80% or less of the area median income; most of the affordable units have three bedrooms.
The developers used a call box system to enable a person without a key to access the building by calling someone in their apartment. If no one was home or the call box didn't work, a child without a key could be left stranded outside.
"As a result of defendants' refusal to issue key fobs to minor residents, children were frequently locked out of Concord Court, or could not reach the floors on which their apartments were located once inside of the building," according to the complaint.
In September 2019, some tenants filed a complaint with HUD about the key policy. Late that month, managers said they would provide extra keys if parents signed a contract governing children's use of common areas, including a fitness room and computer terminals, the complaint states.
Managers also posted a letter on tenants' doors advising that minors should have adult supervision at all times. A second notice from management clarified that in the case of the building's clubhouse and fitness center, minors had to be supervised by their legal guardians.
Sherri Bannister, one of three adult tenants named in the complaint, said in one instance her child was told by staff that their family could be evicted if the child spoke with another minor resident in the hallway. Another resident's child was warned that if they didn't return to their unit immediately, police would be called.
"Ms. Bannister felt that defendant Concord Rents' staff members treated her family 'like prisoners,' 'lived to harass and bother the kids,' and would not be satisfied unless her children did not leave their unit while at the property," according to the complaint.
The suit alleges that management denied any of the units on the building's second floor to families with children. Besides their proximity to the ground, these were also the only units in the building with balconies.
Bannister says in the complaint that she sought a second-floor unit because she and her daughter both have limited mobility. She eventually rented a third-floor unit after she was repeatedly told the second-floor units were only for tenants paying market rents.
"These statements were inaccurate, as 13 units on the second floor were ultimately rented to tenants whose income was at or below 80% of AMI," the complaint says, adding that those tenants did not have any children.
Concord Court at Creative Village Partners could not be reached for immediate comment.
The U.S. government is represented by Yohance A. Pettis of the Florida U.S. Attorney's Office and Jaclyn A. Harris, Sameena Shina Majeed and Michael S. Maurer of the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.
Counsel information was not available for Concord Court at Creative Village Partners.
The case is United States v. Concord Court at Creative Village Partners Ltd., case number 6:22-cv-01824, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
--Editing by John C. Davenport.
Correction: A previous version of this article misidentified the parent firm of Concord Court at Creative Village Partners. The error has been corrected.
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