Lesson 16: Who wrote the new building rule? Educator guide

The notice with no name

The story: A new sign by the door

On Monday morning, a new notice appears beside the common-room door in Sami’s apartment building. In bold capital letters, it says the rear door will be locked at 8:00 p.m. every night. It also says the common room is “for resident social use only.” At the bottom: “NO BUSINESS USE.”

The notice has no name, no date and no contact. That matters to Sami. She lives in apartment 3B and uses a manual wheelchair. The rear door is the building’s only step-free entrance. The front entrance has four steps and no ramp. Sami also runs a workshop in the common room, and it goes past 8 p.m.

Before anyone starts arguing, Sami takes a photo of the notice. She writes down when and where she found it. Caio brings last year’s house rules to compare.

Your role is to help Sami keep a clear record of what the notice says and when it appeared.

Who made this rule?

Authority is the power a person or group has to make or change a particular rule or decision. Bold type and capital letters do not show who has that power. As Caio says, somebody made it look official. He still does not know who.

In Lesson 4, you learned that a decision-maker is the person or group with the power to make a particular choice. Sami needs to find out who the decision-maker is here. In Lesson 1, you learned to find the original source. Last year’s house rules say residents may reserve the common room for “gatherings, classes and resident-run workshops.” The new notice does not say whether it replaces those rules. It also never says what “business use” means.

In Lesson 10, you learned that a barrier is something that blocks or limits a person from taking part. A locked rear door would be a barrier for Sami after 8 p.m. Documentation is a record, such as a photo, a note or an email, that shows what was said or done and when. Sami’s photo and note are documentation.

Sami keeps two questions apart. Who has the authority behind this notice? And how does she get in after 8? A reasonable accommodation is a change to a rule or practice that gives a person with a disability equal use of a place. For Sami, a key fob for the rear door could work. Neither Sami nor Caio calls the notice illegal. They do not know enough yet.

Real tenants, real doors

In 2018 and 2019, tenants in a Brooklyn apartment complex learned their landlord wanted to install a face-scanning entry system. Because the change needed a state agency’s permission, the tenants had a place to object. In November 2019, the landlord dropped the plan (Gothamist, November 21, 2019).

Key terms in this passage

Authority

Authority is the power a person or group has to make or change a particular rule or decision.

Reasonable accommodation

A reasonable accommodation is a change to a rule or practice that gives a person with a disability equal use of a place.

Documentation

Documentation is a record, such as a photo, a note or an email, that shows what was said or done and when.

Decision-maker

A decision-maker is the person or group with the power to make a particular choice.

Barrier

A barrier is something that blocks or limits a person from taking part.

Real sources cited

• Gothamist, “Brooklyn Landlord Does An About Face On Facial Recognition Plan,” November 21, 2019. Open the source (opens in a new tab)

Bold type is not authority

The story: Monday morning, 3B

On Monday morning, a new notice is posted beside the common-room door in Sami’s apartment building. “NOTICE TO ALL RESIDENTS. Effective immediately, the rear door will be locked at 8:00 p.m. nightly. The common room is for resident social use only. NO BUSINESS USE.” There is no name at the bottom, no date and no phone number or email.

Sami reads it twice. She lives in apartment 3B and uses a manual wheelchair. The entrance plan in the lobby directory tells the rest. The front entrance has four steps and no ramp, and the side door is for service use only. The rear door is the only step-free way in. She also runs a workshop in the common room that goes past 8 p.m. “So, questions,” she tells Caio. “Plural.”

Her first move is not an argument. She takes a photo of the notice and writes down when and where she found it. Caio, who rents a room on the block, brings last year’s house rules, the ones residents got at lease signing, so they can read the two side by side.

Your role is to help Sami keep a clean record of the notice before anyone starts arguing about what it said.

Finding the source of a rule

Authority is the power a person or group has to make or change a particular rule or decision. The notice uses every visual sign of authority, including capital letters, bold type and “effective immediately.” It gives no evidence of who holds that authority. An unsigned notice is not automatically invalid, either. Sami has to find out who issued it and which document it claims to change.

Earlier cases prepared this skill. Lesson 1 sent you to the original source, and last year’s house rules are one. They say residents may reserve the common room for “gatherings, classes and resident-run workshops” through the building office. Lesson 4 gave you the decision-maker, the person or group with the power to make a particular choice. Lesson 7 taught you to ask what stage a process has reached. Is this notice final, a draft or a mistake? Nobody knows.

Caio spots the gap in the wording. Last year’s rules allow resident-run workshops. The notice bans “business use” without defining it. Is Sami’s workshop business? The notice never says.

Lesson 10’s term barrier, something that blocks or limits a person from taking part, describes what a locked rear door would mean for Sami after 8. A reasonable accommodation is a change to a rule or practice that gives a person with a disability equal use of a place. For Sami, a key fob for the rear door would work. Documentation is a record, such as a photo, a note or an email, that shows what was said or done and when. Her photo and note are documentation.

Her message to the building manager will ask three things: who issued the notice, whether it replaces last year’s rules and how she gets in after 8. Neither she nor Caio calls it illegal yet.

What the law says and what tenants have done

The Fair Housing Act is a federal law. HUD, the federal housing department, says it bars housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status or disability, and it covers most housing, with some exceptions (HUD, no date listed). HUD has also explained how a person with a disability can ask for an exception to a building rule (HUD, January 31, 2014).

Tenants have used process before. At a Brooklyn complex, a landlord applied to install a facial-recognition entry system. Because the change needed a state agency’s permission, tenants could object, and in November 2019 the landlord withdrew the plan (Gothamist, November 21, 2019).

Key terms in this passage

Authority

Authority is the power a person or group has to make or change a particular rule or decision.

Reasonable accommodation

A reasonable accommodation is a change to a rule or practice that gives a person with a disability equal use of a place.

Documentation

Documentation is a record, such as a photo, a note or an email, that shows what was said or done and when.

Decision-maker

A decision-maker is the person or group with the power to make a particular choice.

Barrier

A barrier is something that blocks or limits a person from taking part.

Real sources cited

• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), “Fair Housing Act overview,” No date listed. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
• HUD (YouTube), “The Federal Fair Housing Act and Reasonable Accommodations,” January 31, 2014. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
• Gothamist, “Brooklyn Landlord Does An About Face On Facial Recognition Plan,” November 21, 2019. Open the source (opens in a new tab)

Who wrote the rule?

The story: An anonymous notice

Sami, 23, lives in apartment 3B, studies design and uses a manual wheelchair. On Monday morning, she finds a new notice beside her building’s common-room door. It announces two changes “effective immediately.” The rear door will be locked at 8:00 p.m. nightly, and the common room is for resident social use only, with “NO BUSINESS USE” in capitals. The notice carries no name, no date and no contact.

Each change touches her directly. The building’s entrance plan lists a front entrance with four steps and no ramp, a side door for service use only and a rear door that is step-free and opens to the elevator hallway. After 8 p.m., the notice would lock the only door she can use. It would also cloud the future of the workshop she runs in the common room, which goes past 8.

Sami does not start with outrage. She photographs the notice and writes down when and where she found it, before anybody starts arguing about what it said. Caio, the oldest in the crew, brings last year’s house rules, handed out at lease signing. He reads the notice the way an editor reads copy. All caps, bold, no name, no date. Somebody made it look official, and he still does not know who.

Your role is to help Sami keep a clean record of the notice before anyone starts arguing.

Authority, sources and missing definitions

Authority is the power a person or group has to make or change a particular rule or decision. The case separates the look of authority from its substance. Formatting signals power but does not prove it. An unsigned notice is not automatically invalid, but its force depends on who issued it and what it claims to change.

The new skill is finding who has the authority to make a rule. It draws on three earlier skills. From Lesson 1, you compare the notice with an original document, last year’s house rules, which let residents reserve the room for “gatherings, classes and resident-run workshops” through the building office. From Lesson 7, you ask what stage the rule is at. From Lesson 10, you take the question to the office that can answer it, here the building manager. Lesson 4’s decision-maker, the person or group with the power to make a particular choice, names what Sami is looking for.

Caio’s comparison finds a definitional gap. The old rules explicitly allow resident-run workshops. The new notice bans “business use” without defining it, so nobody can yet say whether Sami’s workshop is affected. The notice also does not say whether it replaces the old rules or adds to them.

Lesson 10’s barrier, something that blocks or limits a person from taking part, describes the locked rear door. A reasonable accommodation is a change to a rule or practice that gives a person with a disability equal use of a place, such as a key fob for the rear door. Documentation is a record, such as a photo, a note or an email, that shows what was said or done and when. Sami’s photo and note will matter if the facts are disputed later. She keeps her two questions apart: who has the authority, and how she gets in after 8. Neither friend calls the notice illegal, because they do not yet know who wrote it or how the building handles access requests.

The law, the process and a Brooklyn example

A landlord’s policy and the law are different sources of rules. HUD says the Fair Housing Act bars housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status or disability, and covers most housing with some exceptions (HUD, no date listed). Guidance can change even when the law does not. In 2025, HUD withdrew several fair housing guidance documents, but the Act itself stayed the same (National Association of Realtors, October 7, 2025). Enforcement continues. In 2026, the Justice Department announced a $750,000 settlement with a property management company in a disability discrimination case (U.S. Department of Justice, April 30, 2026).

Process can give tenants leverage. At Atlantic Plaza Towers in Brownsville, Brooklyn, the landlord applied to install a facial-recognition entry system. Tenants say they learned about it from the state housing agency, not the landlord. Because the change needed that agency’s permission, they filed opposition (Legal Services NYC, May 1, 2019), and in November 2019 the landlord withdrew the application (Gothamist, November 21, 2019). That case turned on New York’s rent-stabilization rules, which may not apply to Sami’s building.

The NCA credo describes the posture Sami takes: “We strive to understand and respect other communicators’ intent before evaluating and responding to their messages” (NCA Credo for Ethical Communication, 2024).

Key terms in this passage

Authority

Authority is the power a person or group has to make or change a particular rule or decision.

Reasonable accommodation

A reasonable accommodation is a change to a rule or practice that gives a person with a disability equal use of a place.

Documentation

Documentation is a record, such as a photo, a note or an email, that shows what was said or done and when.

Decision-maker

A decision-maker is the person or group with the power to make a particular choice.

Barrier

A barrier is something that blocks or limits a person from taking part.

Real sources cited

• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), “Fair Housing Act overview,” No date listed. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
• National Association of Realtors (Washington Report), “HUD Withdraws Fair Housing Guidance Documents,” October 7, 2025. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
• U.S. Department of Justice, “Justice Department Settles Disability Discrimination Case Against Property Management Company for $750,000,” April 30, 2026. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
• Legal Services NYC, “Brooklyn tenants file legal opposition to landlord’s application to install facial recognition entry system in building,” May 1, 2019. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
• Gothamist, “Brooklyn Landlord Does An About Face On Facial Recognition Plan,” November 21, 2019. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
• National Communication Association (NCA), “Credo for Ethical Communication,” 2024. Open the source (opens in a new tab)

Authority, accommodation and the paper trail

The story: A rule without an author

An unsigned notice appears beside the common-room door of Sami’s apartment building. It declares that, effective immediately, the rear door will be locked at 8:00 p.m. nightly and the common room is for resident social use only, with “NO BUSINESS USE.” It has no author, date or contact.

For Sami, 23, a design student who uses a manual wheelchair and lives in 3B, the stakes are concrete. The building’s entrance plan shows four steps and no ramp at the front, a service-only side door and a step-free rear door to the elevator hallway. The notice would close her only accessible entrance each evening. It would also cast doubt on the workshop she runs in the common room, which runs past 8.

Her first action is documentary rather than rhetorical. She photographs the notice and records when and where she found it. Caio, 24, reads last year’s house rules, distributed at lease signing, beside the new text. He resists both easy responses. The notice should not be ignored, because if it is real the door is locked tonight. It should not be broadcast to the building either, until they know who wrote it.

Your role is to help Sami keep a clean record of the notice before anyone starts arguing.

Separating authority from access

Authority is the power a person or group has to make or change a particular rule or decision. The notice performs authority through typography and the phrase “effective immediately.” It does not establish it. The analytical task, and the new skill in this case, is locating the source of a rule: who issued it, under what power and in relation to which prior rule.

The skill draws on the ladder of earlier cases. From Lesson 1, the prior house rules serve as the original document. They permit reserving the room for “gatherings, classes and resident-run workshops” through the building office. From Lesson 4, the decision-maker, the person or group with the power to make a particular choice, is the unknown to be identified. From Lesson 7, the question of stage applies. The notice may be final, provisional or unauthorized. From Lesson 10, the question goes to the office positioned to answer it, the building manager.

Caio’s textual comparison surfaces the ambiguity that matters most. The old rules protect resident-run workshops. The new text bans undefined “business use” and does not say whether it supersedes the old rules. Until those gaps close, no one can say whether Sami’s workshop is affected.

Sami deliberately separates two questions that a less careful response would merge. The authority question asks who made the rule. The access question asks how she enters after 8. A barrier, the Lesson 10 term for something that blocks or limits a person from taking part, describes the locked door whatever its author’s intent. A reasonable accommodation is a change to a rule or practice that gives a person with a disability equal use of a place. A fob for the rear door is a concrete request that could preserve security and access together. Documentation is a record, such as a photo, a note or an email, that shows what was said or done and when. It preserves Sami’s ability to rely on the facts later.

Law, guidance and tenant process

HUD explains that the Fair Housing Act bars housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status or disability, with coverage of most housing and some exceptions (HUD, no date listed). HUD has also explained how people with disabilities can request exceptions to rules (HUD, January 31, 2014). Enforcement is real. The Justice Department announced a $750,000 settlement with a property management company in a disability discrimination case in 2026 (U.S. Department of Justice, April 30, 2026). Paired-testing research found that renters with disabilities were told about fewer options (Urban Institute, July 2, 2015). The source of a rule matters in law too. In 2025, HUD withdrew fair housing guidance documents without any change to the Act (National Association of Realtors, October 7, 2025).

Procedural leverage can be decisive. At Atlantic Plaza Towers in Brownsville, Brooklyn, tenants opposed a landlord’s application to install facial-recognition entry, which required state agency approval (Legal Services NYC, May 1, 2019). The landlord withdrew the plan in November 2019 (Gothamist, November 21, 2019). That outcome depended on New York’s rent-stabilization rules and may not transfer to Sami’s building.

The ABA’s model rules require a basis in law and fact before a lawyer brings a claim, and they call for learning the facts and the applicable law first (ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, 1983, as amended). Sami and Caio follow the same order, and they hold their conclusions until the facts arrive.

Key terms in this passage

Authority

Authority is the power a person or group has to make or change a particular rule or decision.

Reasonable accommodation

A reasonable accommodation is a change to a rule or practice that gives a person with a disability equal use of a place.

Documentation

Documentation is a record, such as a photo, a note or an email, that shows what was said or done and when.

Decision-maker

A decision-maker is the person or group with the power to make a particular choice.

Barrier

A barrier is something that blocks or limits a person from taking part.

Real sources cited

• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), “Fair Housing Act overview,” No date listed. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
• HUD (YouTube), “The Federal Fair Housing Act and Reasonable Accommodations,” January 31, 2014. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
• U.S. Department of Justice, “Justice Department Settles Disability Discrimination Case Against Property Management Company for $750,000,” April 30, 2026. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
• Urban Institute, “Restricted Options: evidence on housing discrimination against people with disabilities,” July 2, 2015. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
• National Association of Realtors (Washington Report), “HUD Withdraws Fair Housing Guidance Documents,” October 7, 2025. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
• Legal Services NYC, “Brooklyn tenants file legal opposition to landlord’s application to install facial recognition entry system in building,” May 1, 2019. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
• Gothamist, “Brooklyn Landlord Does An About Face On Facial Recognition Plan,” November 21, 2019. Open the source (opens in a new tab)
• American Bar Association (ABA), Center for Professional Responsibility, “ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct,” No date listed. Open the source (opens in a new tab)