An Implied Warranty of Freedom from Sexual Harassment: The Solution for Harassed Tenants Where the Fair Housing Act Has Failed

Authors

Theresa Keeley, New Jersey Supreme Court

Abstract

Although sexual harassment in the workplace is recognized as a problem, sexual harassment in housing has largely been ignored. When confronting sexual harassment in housing, courts have borrowed standards for sexual harassment in the workplace. Criticism of this practice exists; however this Article examines the real source of the problem: bringing sexual harassment claims under the Fair Housing Act. Specifically, this Article shows how and why the Fair Housing Act fails to address the problem of sexual harassment in housing. To remedy this failure, this Article proposes an "implied warranty of freedom from sexual harassment" that both restores the tenant's loss of control and provides a nonjudicial, self-help remedy to the tenant.

Recommended Citation

Theresa Keeley, An Implied Warranty of Freedom from Sexual Harassment: The Solution for Harassed Tenants Where the Fair Housing Act Has Failed, 38 U. Mich. J. L. Reform 397 (2005).
Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mjlr/vol38/iss2/4