Kentucky landlord to pay $150,000 over alleged sexual harassment of tenants

A landlord in Somerset, Kentucky, has agreed to pay $150,000 to resolve a federal lawsuit alleging that he sexually harassed female tenants for over a decade, the Justice Department announced.

Danny Bell, who owns and manages residential rental properties in the area, agreed to resolve claims that he violated the Fair Housing Act by sexually harassing women who rented from him, according to the department. The proposed consent order still must be entered by the court.

“Tenants should not be forced to choose between safety and keeping a roof over their heads,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Dhillon said the case involved a landlord who sexually harassed female tenants and threatened to evict those who refused his advances. She pledged that the department “will continue to hold landlords accountable for using their power to violate the rights of vulnerable women.”

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Parman for the Eastern District of Kentucky said the settlement “sends a clear message” that his office will not tolerate sexual harassment in housing.

The Justice Department’s lawsuit, filed in April 2023 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, alleges that Bell offered to forgive rent in exchange for sexual contact, subjected tenants to unwelcome sexual touching, made unwelcome sexual comments and advances, entered female tenants’ homes without notice or permission, and threatened to evict tenants who refused his demands.

Under the proposed consent order, Bell must pay $140,000 to tenants harmed by his alleged harassment and a $10,000 civil penalty to the United States. The order governs the sale of his current residential rental properties, bars him from managing any future residential rental properties and prohibits him from contacting tenants harmed by the alleged harassment. It also requires training and the adoption of policies and procedures intended to prevent future discrimination in his rental properties.

The settlement is part of the Justice Department’s Sexual Harassment in Housing Initiative, launched in October 2017 to address and raise awareness about sexual harassment by landlords, property managers, maintenance workers, loan officers and others who control housing. Since launching the initiative, the department has filed 53 lawsuits alleging sexual harassment in housing and recovered over $19 million for victims.

People who have experienced sexual harassment by a landlord or property manager, or other forms of housing discrimination, can call the Justice Department’s Housing Discrimination Tip Line at 1-800-896-7743 or submit a report through the department’s civil rights website.