Suit Accuses Apartments of Bias Against Children

The management of an apartment complex here has been accused of violating federal law by discriminating against adults with children, the Fair Housing Council of Orange County said Monday.

The council announced it had filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana against Las Brisas Apartments, 7981 Bay Drive, and owner Donald Ayres. Cliff Dover, compliance manager for the Fair Housing Council, said the suit is the agency’s first federal case involving alleged housing discrimination against children.

In an interview Monday, Johnnie Webb, Las Brisas Apartments manager, denied the allegations.

“We don’t discriminate against anybody,” Webb said. “Our policy is not to allow more than two persons in any apartment regardless. We’re close to the beach, and we’re aware how some beach units become overcrowded if you don’t have rules. We do have children in some of these apartments; we have children all over the place. I love children; I’m a grandmother.”

In a separate interview, Dover charged that Las Brisas “for years has been discriminating against families with minor children.” Dover said the council has several complaints from former tenants who say they were forced to move because a wife became pregnant. He said the council also has complaints from prospective tenants who allegedly were denied an apartment because they have a child.

Dover said that a 1988 amendment to the federal government’s landmark 1968 Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate against children in housing rental. The state has outlawed such discrimination since 1982, he noted.

Dover said the suit against Las Brisas was filed Feb. 9 but was not announced until Monday because of difficulty in serving legal papers on Ayres and the apartment management.