ONEIDA, N.Y. -- A Madison County landlord has been accused of discriminating against a resident with disabilities, according to federal officials.

The charge stems from a case in July of 2015, in which a woman was kicked out of her apartment after refusing to pay a pet fee, according to a complaint filed with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. The woman needed the pet, a dog, to cope with a psychiatric condition, the complaint said.

The landlord, Milton James, has been accused of evicting the woman because of the pet, HUD said.

The woman signed a lease beginning on Aug. 1, 2015, according to the complaint. The initial lease for an apartment at 303 Lenox Ave. waived a $50 pet fee because the woman required the pet to cope with a psychiatric condition, the complaint said.

Within a few days James had the woman sign a second lease, which required that the woman to not talk about the accommodation and make sure the dog didn’t bark too much, the complaint said.

The woman began taking her dog to a friend’s house on weekdays, according to the complaint.

After the woman was hired at a job, James tried to pull the waiver and make the woman pay the fee, the complaint said. The woman did not pay the fee, according to the complaint.

James tried to evict the woman, texting the woman’s neighbor to tell her to leave the apartment, the complaint said. She eventually moved out of the apartment, according to the complaint.

On Dec. 15, 2015, James sent the woman a letter, telling her that she owed him $926.50, the complaint said. James said he was owed a dog security deposit of $350 and four months in pet fees, which totaled $200, the complaint said. Those were included in the $926.50.

In the letter, James wrote that he would countersue if the woman sued him and that problems with the dog were among the reasons the woman was forced from the apartment, the complaint said.

An administrative law judge will hear the case and, if discrimination is found to have happened, the woman could be awarded damages, HUD said.

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