Justice Department Secures Settlement with Missouri Apartment Complex Developers Over Disability Discrimination Claims

The Justice Department announced that LJLD LLC and Westminster Properties LLC, the developers of residential apartments in St. Louis, have agreed to settle a federal lawsuit alleging that they violated the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by failing to design and construct Bridgewater Residences Apartments in St. Louis to be accessible to people with disabilities.

Under the consent order, which must still be approved by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, the defendants will pay $18,500 into a settlement fund to compensate individuals harmed by the inaccessible housing and will modify features of the apartment complex to be accessible. The updates will, among other things, eliminate inaccessibly steep slopes on the walkways around the outside of the apartment complex; make accessible the exterior facilities, such as the dumpster and the dog park, by constructing the appropriate sidewalks and ramps; and make the bathrooms in the apartments more accessible and usable.  

“This settlement makes clear that the Justice Department is committed to zealously enforcing the federal civil rights laws that guarantee people with disabilities equal access to housing,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Real estate developers across the country should take note that they cannot ignore federally-mandated accessibility requirements.”

“Under this agreement, tenants with disabilities will be compensated for the difficulties they suffered in the past at these apartments,” said U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming for the Eastern District of Missouri. “But more importantly, the agreed-upon updates will make it safer and easier for both current and future tenants to easily access all the facilities of the complex, including dumpsters, dog parks and their own apartment bathrooms.”

“Failing to properly design and construct apartments to be accessible to people with disabilities amounts to violation of the Fair Housing Act and the ADA,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Demetria L. McCain of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “That is why Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) free Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST initiative was created as a way to assist the public with planning for compliance with the accessibility requirements first – before engineering, before design and before construction.”

In addition to updating the apartments and compensating persons who have who have been harmed as a result of the inaccessible conditions at the properties (located at 19, 21 and 23 Kassebaum Lane), the consent order also requires that the defendants’ employees undergo training on the design and construction requirements of the FHA and the ADA.

The lawsuit arose from a complaint by Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing and Opportunity Council (EHOC) filed with HUD. After HUD investigated the complaint, it issued a charge of discrimination. EHOC chose to have the matter decided in federal court, and HUD referred to the matter to the Justice Department. Upon receiving the referral, the Justice Department investigated further and filed a lawsuit in September 2022.

Individuals who believe they or someone they know may have had difficulties because of the inaccessible conditions at these properties should send an e-mail to the Justice Department at fairhousing@usdoj.gov or call 1-833-591-0291 and select option 1 for English, option 4 for housing accessibility for persons with disabilities or the design and construction of accessible housing cases, and option 7 for Bridgewater to leave a message.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division enforces the FHA, which prohibits discrimination in housing based on disability, race, color, religion, national origin, sex and familial status. This law requires that multifamily housing buildings with four or more units constructed after March 13, 1991, have basic accessible features. Enacted in 1990, the ADA requires that places of public accommodation, such as rental offices at multifamily housing complexes constructed after Jan. 26, 1993, be accessible to persons with disabilities. 

More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.justice.gov/crt. Individuals may report disability discrimination or other forms of housing discrimination by calling the Justice Department’s Housing Discrimination tip line at 1-833-591-0291, e-mailing the Justice Department at fairhousing@usdoj.gov, or submitting a report online. Individuals may also report such discrimination by contacting HUD at 1-800-669-9777 or by filing a complaint online.  

HUD’s Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST is an initiative designed to promote compliance with the Fair Housing Act design and construction requirements. The program offers comprehensive and detailed instruction programs, useful online web resources, and a toll-free information line for technical guidance and support. Those interested in technical assistance from HUD’s FIRST program may read more at www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/accessibility_first_home.