The Justice Department announced 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.
Under the settlement agreement, the defendants must pay $52,500 to the woman who was denied an apartment. The 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.
Source: Department of Justice
Topics Oklahoma