Also known as:group homes · group-home · residential group home
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A small residential facility that houses individuals with disabilities or other special needs who live together under supervision as a single housekeeping unit.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
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Zoning Permit Denial Challenged
Gina Griffin applied to the city council for a special use permit to operate a group home for eight adults with intellectual disabilities in a single-family zone. Neighbors submitted letters expressing fears that the residents would wander the neighborhood and lower property values. The council denied the permit solely on the basis of those objections. A court reviewing the denial must determine whether the action rests on a legitimate governmental interest or on impermissible prejudice.
Family Definition Applied to Group Home
Gabriel Gonzalez purchased a house in a neighborhood restricted to single-family dwellings and sought to operate it as a group home for abandoned children under state license. The city argued that the residents did not qualify as a family under the zoning ordinance. The court examined whether the ordinance's definition of family could constitutionally exclude the group home from the single-family zone.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Cases
Casebooks
Moore v. City of East Cleveland, Ohio431 U.S. 494, 503 (1977)
FHA Exemption Dispute
Giselle Guerrero leased a house in a single-family zone to operate Oxford House-Edmonds as a group home for ten to twelve adults recovering from substance abuse. The city issued citations claiming the residents violated the zoning code's definition of family. The court addressed whether the zoning provision functioned as a maximum occupancy limit exempt from the Fair Housing Act or instead as a family-defining rule subject to the Act's antidiscrimination provisions.
City of Edmonds v. Oxford House, Inc.514 U.S. 725 (1995)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
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What level of scrutiny applies to zoning decisions that single out group homes for people with intellectual disabilities?+
Classifications involving persons with intellectual disabilities receive rational basis review. Even under that deferential standard the government may not act from mere prejudice or community animus. A denial resting solely on neighbors' fears about the residents' mental condition lacks a legitimate governmental interest and violates equal protection.
Supporting sources
Does a zoning ordinance's definition of family exempt a group home from Fair Housing Act coverage?+
A provision that defines who may compose a family is not a maximum occupancy restriction exempt under the FHA. Such family-defining rules remain subject to the Act's prohibitions on discrimination against persons with disabilities.
Supporting sources
When may a household member of a group home director face premises liability?+
A member of the possessor's household who carries on an activity on the land is treated as a possessor for liability purposes. The household member therefore owes the same duties to persons on or off the premises that the director would owe.
Supporting sources
What evidence shows that a zoning denial for a group home rests on prejudice rather than legitimate land-use concerns?+
Evidence that the board acted solely because of neighbors' statements about the residents' disabilities, without supporting data on traffic or parking, demonstrates that prejudice supplied the operative reason. Prior approvals of comparable facilities in the same city further indicate that neutral criteria were not the true basis for denial.
Supporting sources
431 U.S. 494, 503 (1977)Property
…of Appeals of New York refused to apply an ordinance limiting occupancy of single-family dwellings to related individuals to a "group home" licensed by the State to care for abandoned and neglected children. The court wrote: "Zoning is intended to control types of housing and living and not the genetic or intimate internal…