The Justice Department announced that the owners of an Oklahoma City rental apartment have agreed to pay $52,500 to settle a lawsuit alleging they refused to rent a one-bedroom apartment to a single mother after learning that she would be living with her child in violation of the Fair Housing Act.
Under the settlement agreement, the defendants must pay $52,500 to the woman who was denied housing. Defendants must also implement non-discrimination policies and practices and undergo training to prevent future discrimination, including discrimination based on marital status, at The Vintage at Mesta Park.
The department’s lawsuit, filed in August 2025 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, alleges that in July 2022, a woman inquired about renting a one-bedroom unit at the defendants’ 36-unit apartment complex called The Vintage at Mesta Park.
The apartment was near her work and opposite a school where she wanted to send her then three-year-old son. The woman viewed the available unit, a newly renovated one-bedroom unit, and informed the defendant’s landlord that she wanted to proceed with leasing the unit.
Defendant Jacqueline Fox, who managed the property and was the owner of 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 was moving in with her son, Defendant Fox responded that the woman could not move in because no children had lived on the property for over eight years and the property was not “child 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 Department of Justice after HUD received the complaint described above, completed an investigation, and filed a charge of discrimination.
The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination against families with children in housing.
Source: Ministry of Justice
Topics
Oklahoma
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