Justice Department Secures Settlement of Lawsuit Against Oklahoma Landlord for Refusing to Rent to a Family with a Child
Thursday, October 22, 2026 - The Justice Department announced today that the owners of a residential rental property in Oklahoma City have agreed to pay $52,500 to resolve a lawsuit alleging that they refused to rent a one-bedroom apartment to a single mother upon learning that she would be living with her child, in violation of the Fair Housing Act.
“The Fair Housing Act has long prohibited landlords from denying renters simply because they have children. Unfortunately, this type of discrimination still occurs today,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to seeking relief for families who are harmed when landlords illegally exclude them from housing because of their family status.”
“A home should bring a family together, not force a mother to choose between a roof over her head and her own child,” said Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Craig W. Trainor of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “When Congress amended the Fair Housing Act in 1988 to prohibit familial status discrimination, it denied landlords the power to force that unconscionable choice. The Department will continue to use its authority to protect the integrity of the family and hold accountable landlords who violate their legal obligations.”
Under the settlement agreement, Defendants must pay $52,500 to the woman who was denied an apartment. Defendants must also implement a nondiscrimination policy and practices, and undergo training to prevent future discrimination, including familial status discrimination, at The Vintage at Mesta Park.
The Department’s lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma in August 2025, alleges that in July 2022 a woman inquired about renting a one-bedroom unit in Defendants’ 36-unit apartment complex known as The Vintage at Mesta Park. The apartment was close to her work, and across the street from a school where she hoped to send her then-three-year-old son. The woman viewed the available unit, a newly remodeled one-bedroom unit, and told Defendants’ rental agent that she wanted to move forward with renting the unit.
Defendant Jacqueline Fox, who managed the property and owned the LLC that owns the property, initially told the woman that she would be approved to move in. However, when the woman mentioned that she would be moving in with her son, Defendant Fox responded that the woman could not move in because no children had resided at the property in over eight years, and the property was not “kid friendly.” She refused to rent to the woman and her son, and the woman filed a complaint with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD referred this case to the Justice Department after HUD received the complaint described above, completed an investigation, and issued a charge of discrimination.
The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing against families with children. If you have experienced such discrimination by a landlord or property manager or have suffered other forms of housing discrimination, call the Justice Department’s Housing Discrimination Tip Line at 1-800-896-7743, submit a report online, or file a complaint with the Department of Housing and Urban Development. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.justice.gov/crt.
U.S. Department of Justice
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Source: Justice.gov
