Opinion ID: 215533
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Compliance Between May 2000 and September 2007

Text: To qualify for HOPA's affirmative defense, a community must satisfy all three statutory and regulatory requirements. See Hayward, 36 F.3d at 837; see also 42 U.S.C. § 3607(b); 24 C.F.R. §§ 100.304-100.307. [8] Between May 2000 and September 2007, RISA did not satisfy one of these requirementsthe obligation to verify by reliable surveys and affidavits that at least 80 percent of Ryderwood's occupied units were occupied by at least one person who was 55 years of age or older. See 42 U.S.C. § 3607(b)(2)(C)(iii); 24 C.F.R. § 100.307. RISA did not perform verification surveys between 2000 and 2006. With respect to 2000-2004, RISA concedes that it did not conduct surveys. See Opening Brief 2 (RISA does not dispute that in the years 2000-04, it failed to conduct a formal `HOPA survey' to verify Ryderwood residents' ages, as HOPA regulations provide . . . .). With respect to 2005-2006, RISA contends that it did conduct a survey, but has declined to place evidence of the 2006 survey in the record, instead relying exclusively on the September 2007 survey to establish its compliance with HOPA. We construe RISA's actions as a concession that the 2006 survey does not satisfy HOPA. RISA nonetheless argues that it satisfied the age verification requirement between 2000 and 2006 because, although it did not conduct adequate verification surveys during that period, it engaged in less formal verification processes that were equally effective. Opening Br. 28. RISA describes these efforts as follows: Every home in Ryderwood is subject to the bylaws and deed conditions that require all owners to abide by the 55 and over provision. RISA requires every homeowner to join RISA, and to confirm his or [her] age upon joining. RISA regularly updates its rolodex of all families and its annual neighborhood phone book. This multi-faceted process of verification complemented the covenants and bylaws [that restrict Ryderwood to persons 55 or older]. Id. These verification efforts fall short of the statutory requirements. To satisfy HOPA's verification requirement, a community must verify the age of its residents at least once every two years; the verification must cover all housing units in the community; residents' ages must be verified using reliable documents; a record of the verification, including copies of the relevant documentation, must be maintained in the community's files; and the community must be able to produce that record in response to a complaint of discrimination. See 24 C.F.R. § 100.307(a)-(e). Whether considered individually or collectively, the verification efforts described by RISA the rolodex cards and RISA membership formsdo not satisfy these criteria. 1. The Rolodex. RISA apparently maintains a rolodex card for each home in the Ryderwood community. Based on our review of the four sample cards RISA has included in the excerpts of record, we infer that each card contains a list of household residents and information about their dates of birth. These cards do not satisfy HOPA, however. First, they provide current information on Ryderwood residents, rather than providing a record of verifications that should have been conducted biennially between 2000 and 2006. RISA cannot rely on current rolodex information to establish that it verified the ages of Ryderwood's residents in 2000, 2002, 2004 or 2006 especially when no claim has been made that any such verifications actually occurred. Second, although the cards include information about residents' ages, RISA does not contend that this information rests on reliable documentation, such as driver's licenses, birth certificates, passports and signed certifications, as § 100.307(d) requires. 2. RISA Membership Forms. RISA also argues that its membership forms satisfy the HOPA verification requirement between 2000 and 2006. RISA explains that it has continuously required Ryderwood homeowners to join its association. To become members, residents are required to complete and sign a membership form. Since 1996, that form has required residents to include information regarding their ages. RISA contends that the existence of these forms is adequate to establish that it verified Ryderwood's compliance with the occupancy requirement at all times between 2000 and 2006. We disagree. Verifications, which must take place at least once every two years, occur at fixed points in time. To satisfy the requirement, a community must do more than collect some data over some period of time. It must collect complete data for all residences. The data must be current (as of the time of the verification). And the community must compile the data: the community must show that it actually used the data to verify that the community in fact satisfied HOPA's 80 percent occupancy requirement at the time of the verification. Here, we have no basis to conclude that the membership forms covered all residences or that they provided current information at any time between 2000 and 2006. See Brief of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as Amicus Curiae (HUD Br.) 22 (Requiring new residents to join RISA and purportedly attest to their age does not establish that all members or an occupant of all households have signed this verification, nor has RISA so claimed . . . . Notwithstanding the bylaws' requirement that homeowners be at least 55 years old, RISA membership forms dated from 1990-1992 did not specifically require that a resident report his or her age.). Furthermore, even if the membership forms contained complete and current information, at no time between 2000 and 2006 did RISA use the information to verify that the occupancy requirement was satisfied. We agree with the HUD Secretary that [t]he mere possession of various records collected over the years . . ., without more, is inadequate to satisfy the verification obligation. A community must collate information from its files to assess whether, in fact, it has verifiable data of all current occupants and it satisfies the 80% occupancy requirement. Id. at 20-21. Here, RISA has not shown that it has compiled a list of RISA members and compared [the membership] data with occupants for any given year to verify that the 80% occupancy requirement was met. Id. at 22. Merely requiring residents to fill out membership forms, absent any compilation of data, is . . . insufficient to meet the verified survey requirement. Id. We accordingly agree with HUD that RISA's pre-2007 efforts fail to satisfy HOPA's age verification requirements. Id. In doing so, we do not disagree with RISA's contention that the HOPA verification requirement may be satisfied by means other than conducting a survey: HUD's regulations provide that a community may verify occupancy through surveys or other means.  24 C.F.R. § 100.307(c) (emphasis added). [9] The means employed, however, must satisfy the minimum criteria established by the statute and regulations. The efforts undertaken by RISA between 2000 and 2006 do not do so. (Nor were they designed to do so. See DeBriae R. 30(b)(6) Dep. 31:3-19, Feb. 12, 2010 (testifying that it was not until spring 2006 that RISA even decided to comply with the HOPA requirements).) The district court thus properly concluded that RISA does not qualify for the HOPA exemption between 2000 and 2006.