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SACRAMENTO, Calif. \u2014 When Anita Brazil\u2019s 20-year-old son arrived at her doorstep in late December in the midst of what she describes as a severe psychiatric collapse, she says she did what any mother would do: she brought him inside.<\/p>\n
Instead, Brazil alleges, her effort to temporarily house and stabilize her adult son triggered a three-month campaign of discrimination, retaliation and harassment by her landlord that ultimately forced her family from their Sacramento home.<\/p>\n
Now, the first-year Master of Science in Law student at McGeorge School of Law has filed a fair housing complaint with the California Civil Rights Department, arguing that California\u2019s protections for tenants with disabilities often mean little if families cannot find attorneys willing to pursue such cases.<\/p>\n
At the center of the dispute is Othman, Brazil\u2019s adult son, who has schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy 20-year-old son was diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar when he was 16,\u201d Brazil said. \u201cHe was delivered at my porch step in late December around my birthday, December 30th, 50 pounds underweight, highly symptomatic, unmedicated, just having hallucinations, just more or less an empty vessel. My son wasn\u2019t recognizable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brazil said Othman had been living with his biological father before arriving unexpectedly at her home during an acute psychiatric crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he was in a psychiatric collapse crisis and we were scrambling, my husband and I, what to do, what do we do?\u201d she said. \u201cHow can we help him?\u201d<\/p>\n
At the time, Brazil said she was working full time, attending graduate school and helping raise her 13-year-old son.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy husband has to show up for work. My son has to go to school and then we have this sick young man who doesn\u2019t even really know his name,\u201d Brazil said. \u201cHe has all these voices in his head.\u201d<\/p>\n
The family began contacting service providers, arranging Medi-Cal coverage and seeking placement through Sacramento County\u2019s Full Service Partnership program.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe prioritized him and then we notified the landlord,\u201d Brazil said. \u201cI said, \u2018We have a situation and I just wanted to let you know being transparent, I want to request a temporary accommodation for my son until we figure out his housing, his care.’\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Brazil, that conversation marked the beginning of the conflict.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that\u2019s when the disability or the discrimination started happening,\u201d she said. \u201cImmediately he\u2019s like, \u2018Well, I never wanted more than four people in the house and now you have your husband there and now your son.’\u201d<\/p>\n
Brazil alleges the landlord proposed escalating monthly charges tied directly to Othman\u2019s continued presence in the home.<\/p>\n
The June 5 press release states the landlord sought an additional $350 monthly beginning in April, increasing by $100 each month to a maximum of $750, amounting to a 34.9% rent increase. Brazil argues the increase exceeded limits established under California law.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted extra money,\u201d Brazil said. \u201cThis is what he proposed.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Brazil, the landlord explicitly referenced concerns about accommodating disabilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me, \u2018If you would have came to me sooner, we could have put him on the lease, but then I don\u2019t want to put him on the lease because with disabilities it requires me to provide notices to renters and I don\u2019t want to go down that road. It\u2019s not something I really want to do,’\u201d Brazil said. \u201c\u2018I don\u2019t want to deal with anyone with disabilities.’\u201d<\/p>\n
Brazil said she repeatedly tried to find common ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked him, \u2018Well, what is your methodology behind charging me this escalating rent increase? Can we talk about this so no one\u2019s housing is at risk because my son doesn\u2019t have income, he doesn\u2019t have any money. We\u2019re asking for a temporary accommodation because we can\u2019t afford to get him his own place and he needs his family. He needs a safe place to be,’\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Instead, she said, she was presented with an ultimatum.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said, \u2018I\u2019m not under no obligation to tell you my calculations and my thoughts. Either one or two things will happen on April 1st. Either you pay the additional money or you give me your 30 day notice with your intentions to move out,’\u201d Brazil said.<\/p>\n
Brazil refused to choose between her son\u2019s welfare and the family\u2019s housing stability.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to pay you the 350 under protest because I\u2019m not choosing between my son or my housing,\u201d she said. \u201cWe choose both and we\u2019ll figure it out from here.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Brazil, the landlord responded by serving a 60-day notice terminating the tenancy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, he didn\u2019t like that,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd then he gave me a 60 day notice, \u2018You know what? This is not going to work out. I want you to leave.’\u201d<\/p>\n
Brazil filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department on April 19. An intake appointment was scheduled for June 16.<\/p>\n
The family ultimately vacated the property May 31, the final day of Mental Health Awareness Month.<\/p>\n
According to Brazil\u2019s press release, the move disrupted her younger son\u2019s school year and cost the family approximately $6,000 in unexpected expenses while both adults maintained full-time employment and Brazil attended law school.<\/p>\n
Brazil said the ordeal exposed the limits of legal protections.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had another attorney firm saying, \u2018Your case has merit, but we can\u2019t take this case at this time because there\u2019s not enough skin in the game,’\u201d she said. \u201cAnd the only way to bring a landlord like him to justice is to take him to court to sue because it\u2019s a civil matter, yet all these laws exist.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is,\u201d she said when asked whether the gap between legal rights and enforcement seemed absurd. \u201cAnd that is what I find so \u2026 That\u2019s why I can\u2019t stop. I need to figure this out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brazil said the emotional toll of recounting the experience remains significant.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the call, I started to get kind of emotional because I felt like I was in it again,\u201d she said of the CRD intake process. \u201cI was in the trauma. I was in the crisis again.\u201d<\/p>\n
She nevertheless believes speaking publicly is necessary.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last thing I want is for another mother and hopefully he doesn\u2019t rent to another mother so she doesn\u2019t have to experience this,\u201d Brazil said. \u201cMothers have children and children grow up and they don\u2019t stop being your child or your calling your responsibility when they hit 20 years old or they hit 25 or 30.\u201d<\/p>\n
Throughout the interview, Brazil returned repeatedly to one question.<\/p>\n
\u201cAm I going to put him on the street?\u201d she said. \u201cWe were asking for the landlord to have some compassion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Months later, she says her son\u2019s condition has improved.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt taken six months to get him stable, to get him to even have a conversation with me where he recognizes me again and I recognize him,\u201d Brazil said. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge success so proud.\u201d<\/p>\n
In her press release, Brazil said the case is about more than her own family.<\/p>\n
\u201cI disclosed my son\u2019s disability on March 6 and the discrimination began the same day,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat this landlord did was use the language of inclusion as a marketing tool while practicing exclusion as a management strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy foundation is that rock bottom is bedrock, not an ending,\u201d she added. \u201cI lived in my car for nine months before I built the life I have now. I know what it costs when systems fail vulnerable families. I am telling this story publicly because the next family this landlord rents to deserves to know what twenty-three months of his corporate-signed correspondence actually looks like, and because the people who treat the dignity of disabled tenants as optional should not be able to count on the people they harm being too tired to tell.\u201d<\/p>\n
Follow the Vanguard on Social Media \u2013 X<\/a>, Instagram <\/a>and Facebook<\/a>.\u00a0 Subscribe <\/a>the Vanguard News letters.\u00a0 To make a tax-deductible donation, please visit davisvanguard.org\/donate<\/a> or give directly through ActBlue<\/a>.\u00a0 Your support will ensure that the vital work of the Vanguard continues.<\/p>\n Follow the Vanguard on Social Media \u2013 X<\/a>, Instagram <\/a>and Facebook<\/a>.\u00a0 Subscribe <\/a>the Vanguard News letters.\u00a0 To make a tax-deductible donation, please visit davisvanguard.org\/donate<\/a> or give directly through ActBlue<\/a>.\u00a0 Your support will ensure that the vital work of the Vanguard continues.<\/p>\n Categories: Breaking News<\/a> Civil Rights<\/a> Housing<\/a> Sacramento Region<\/a> Tags: California Civil Rights Department<\/a> Disability Rights<\/a> Fair Housing<\/a> mental health<\/a> Sacramento<\/a> Tenant Protections<\/a>