Another landlord accused of discriminating against renters with kids
It’s just the latest in a string of cases federal and state authorities have brought against landlords that allege discrimination against renters or condo owners with children.
You may think your kids are awesome. But does your landlord or condo association? Maybe, maybe not.
A North Attleborough apartment complex owner is on the hook for $135,000 in restitution after a real estate agent leasing units at the Royal Park Apartments allegedly steered families with children into certain buildings and floors.
A government testing agent, who met with a real estate agent leasing apartments at Royal Park, was given a rather blunt explanation why some buildings had a mix of adult renters and families with children, despite efforts to the contrary.
“You will see some kids there ’cause if they are born there I can’t throw them away. They have to stay there,’’ the agent said, according to the court complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Justice.
But typically, the rental agent explained, “the children we put in family buildings down in back,’’ with separate buildings for “working professionals so the kids aren’t running around screaming.’’
The lawyer for Royal Park could not be reached for comment.
However, the owner of the apartments has argued it actively markets to families with children and has dozens living at the Route 1 rental complex. The company has said it disagrees with the allegations and only agreed to the settlement to avoid an expensive and drawn out legal battle.
An ongoing problem
Still, it’s just the latest in a string of cases federal and state authorities have brought against landlords in the Boston area and across the country over the past few years that allege discrimination against renters or condo owners with children.
“Families should be able to rent and live where they choose, without being discriminated against because they have children,’’ said United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, in a press statement on the Royal Park case. Ortiz teamed up with the U.S. Justice Department on the case.
The settlement follows a case earlier this year when Attorney General Maura Healey fined a major real estate brokerage firm $17,500 after one of its agents was found to be steering families with children away from various rental listings.
A Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage agent posted several apartment rental ads on Craigslist in which families with children were discouraged from applying, citing the reluctance of various landlords to remove lead paint from the units.
As a result of the case, settled in February, some Coldwell Banker agents were required to attend training sessions on fair housing and lead paint laws, while the brokerage firm agreed to distribute to all its agents a “comprehensive anti-discrimination policy,’’ according to a press release sent about the AG’s office.
A similar case was brought by Healey’s predecessor, former Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, in 2012 against a Holyoke landlord who turned down potential renters with young children by arguing he hadn’t de-leaded the apartment and so could not legally rent it out to families.
“Families with children are protected under Massachusetts law and have the right to live in housing where lead hazards have been abated,’’ AG Healey said. “Massachusetts realtors must understand that they cannot steer families with children away from available housing because of a landlord’s refusal to comply with the lead laws.’’
In a recent Michigan case, testers posing as single mothers with one child were turned away at a number of apartment buildings owned by a local landlord.
The women, who were testers sent out by a local nonprofit organization, were told by rental agents working at the buildings that children were not allowed to live in one-bedroom apartments.
Still, maybe the most egregious case of discrimination came back in 2010, when a Methuen condo board fined parents thousands of dollars for letting their children play on the common area outside.
The condo board hit up parents of the supposedly wayward children $500 for each incident of unauthorized wiffleball or tag, even hiring a photographer to document the offenses, according to an account in The Boston Globe at the time.
The U.S. Department of Justice investigated complaints by parents at the Methuen condo complex and wound up hammering out an agreement under which the condo board shelled out $130,000 to the parents, while coughing up another $20,000 in civil fines.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com