In Pembroke Park, a mobile home park has been charging higher fees to some people to apply to live there, based on the countries from which those people come. The property is called Lakeside Park Estates and is owned by Trinity Broadcasting. The housing application says that US residents have to pay a $50 application processing fee. It lists different, seemingly arbitrary fees for others, such as $80 for a person from Cuba, $135 for a person from Peru, up to $175 for a person from Colombia.

National origin discrimination (treating people differently because of which country from which they come) is illegal under the federal Fair Housing Act. Several countries are actually missing from the list, notably countries with large Black populations such as Jamaica, the Bahamas and Haiti. When specifically asked about fees for people from Haiti (because it’s not on list), staff at the property quoted the highest fee amount, $175.

There have been complaints from people, but a property manager says that the differences in price are due to the countries charging different amounts for background checks. This practice is not the norm, however – another area mobile home park charges a flat fee. The story was exposed on Local 10 News by reporter Jeff Weinsier. Michael Everett of Trinity Broadcasting says that a flat fee is being considered for Lakeside Park Estates, but nothing has changed yet.