Damages in a fair housing case

What is available

• Actual damages: moving costs, a rent differential, boarding fees for the animal, out-of-pocket losses.
• Emotional distress damages, which in housing cases are frequently the largest element.
• Punitive damages, where the conduct was sufficiently egregious.
• Injunctive relief: an order that the accommodation be granted, which is often what the person actually wants.
• Attorney fees and costs to a prevailing plaintiff.

Why the fee provision matters most

A tenant refused an accommodation usually cannot fund litigation, and the sums in dispute look small next to legal costs. The fee-shifting provision is what makes these cases worth a lawyer taking, and it is the reason a housing provider facing a well-documented claim generally settles rather than testing it.

What strengthens a claim

• A written request with a date on it.
• Documentation that plainly met the standard, with checkable licence details.
• A refusal in writing with a reason that does not hold up, or no reason at all.
• Evidence of what it cost you: receipts, a lease at a higher rent, boarding invoices.
• Anything suggesting retaliation, particularly timing.