Jancik v. Department of Housing and Urban Development
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
44 F.3d 553 (1995)
Jancik (defendant/petitioner) advertised a rental apartment expressing a preference for a "mature person." A fair-housing organization sent testers under false identities who reported that Jancik made statements during interviews suggesting a preference against African-American and family applicants, prompting a complaint to HUD (plaintiff/respondent). HUD found Jancik violated the Fair Housing Act's ban on advertisements indicating a discriminatory preference, and Jancik appealed.
Whether evidence of intent to discriminate in housing rental will support a Fair Housing Act violation for a discriminatory advertisement even when the advertisement itself does not explicitly state that intent.