Family Fighting Adult-Only Pool Rule Gets Eviction Slip
Daniel and Kathy Waters thought they had moved into the perfect home: a cozy, two-bedroom unit in a quiet, family-oriented apartment complex in Tustin. Their front terrace even overlooked the swimming pool.
But that pool became the catalyst for a bit of controversy at the La Posada Apartments, 15761 Pasadena Ave. Two weeks ago, the couple said, they received eviction papers after circulating a petition to change the adults-only rule that barred children from the pool area after 4 p.m. daily.
La Posada’s “adults only” hours were illegal, said Elliot Block, a counselor with the Orange County Fair Housing Council. His office receives about 100 complaints a month from apartment and condominium dwellers with children, he said.
Some landlords, Block said, don’t know that unless there is a compelling reason for it, any rule denying children access to housing facilities violates state law. Barring children from swimming for the purpose of “adult comfort” is not a compelling reason, he said.
Decided to Complain
Waters, 27, a Marine sergeant and father of a 4-year-old son, Brandon, and 20-month-old daughter, Jenell, said he first decided to lodge a complaint three weeks ago about the pool hours.
“It was kinda sad when I came home from work and my children were looking out the window and asking, ‘Daddy, can I go out in the pool?’ I had to tell them no, and that was the way it was for who knows how long.”
Waters said the manager agreed to let Brandon swim after the posted hours, if the adults at the pool agreed. But Waters decided to circulate a petition at the complex to abolish the hours. He said 41 tenants, more than half, signed it.
“I don’t think we worked more than an hour and got all those signatures,” he said. “And most of them were very pleased that we were taking action.”
The next day, an assistant manager of the complex gave the Waters an eviction notice, he said.
Block wrote a letter to the management on the Waters’ behalf, and the pool restrictions were lifted.
Edna Stapleton, the manager of La Posada, said the “adults only” hours were meant to give adult residents time to enjoy the pool without children around.
“We’ve never been told that we could not have hours posted for children,” she said.
Signed Notice
Stapleton also denied that she or anyone in her charge delivered an eviction notice, although the Waterses have a notice signed with her name.
Block said California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act of 1959 was updated in January to specifically address housing discrimination against children.
Some landlords are confused, Block said, because court cases have “really just dealt with places that didn’t want to rent to children at all. There’s just not the realization that (the court precedents)apply to a number of different things.”
California law states that any limitation on pool access based on age must be reasonable and for a legitimate purpose. “A complete ban of all children from the pool is not going to be reasonable,” Block said. “Requiring adult supervision for children under 14 is reasonable.”
Daniel Waters said a lawyer representing La Posada called them this week and said they “probably will not” have to move.
“I think it would be helpful if more people knew about these laws,” said Kathy Waters, 25. “We don’t have the time to fight this and we don’t have the money to find a good lawyer.”
