Dearborn Heights landlord to pay $185,000 over sexual harassment claims

A Dearborn Heights landlord has agreed to pay $185,000 over claims he offered female tenants housing-related benefits in exchange for sex or explicit images, officials said.

Mohamad Hussein agreed to the damages and a civil penalty to the government to resolve a lawsuit alleging he sexually harassed female tenants and prospective tenants, the U.S. Department of Justice said Monday.

"No one should be denied the opportunity to live in safe and affordable housing because of their refusal to submit to a landlord’s sexual demands," Kristen Clarke, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement. "When landlords sexually harass their tenants, they deprive tenants of the ability to feel safe and secure in their own homes. The Justice Department is committed to holding predatory landlords accountable to ensure that all tenants are protected from unlawful discrimination."

Federal officials said Hussein will pay $185,000 in damages to eight victims and the civil penalty under a consent decree approved Monday by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

In addition, the consent decree will require Hussein to take steps to vacate any retaliatory eviction judgments obtained against the tenants and permanently bans him from personally managing rental properties.

It also requires that he retain an independent property manager to manage any rental properties he owns, implement non-discrimination policies and complaint procedures to prevent sexual harassment at his properties as well as take fair housing training.

Hussein's attorney was not immediately available Tuesday for comment.

Hussein owned and managed more than 15 rental properties in and around Dearborn Heights since 2013, according to the Department of Justice. Officials said he harassed female tenants and prospective tenants since 2017.

Federal prosecutors filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Hussein on March 14, 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit. It was filed under the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability and familial status.

Officials claimed Hussein made unwelcome sexual comments and sexual advances to female tenants as well as sent them sexually explicit images of himself. They also said he offered them housing-related benefits in exchange for engaging in sex acts with him.

cramirez@detroitnews.com

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