Mass AG Files Housing Discrimination Suit Against Landlord Alleging Violations Of Lead Based Paint, Section 8 Rules

Last month, the Massachusetts Attorney General announced the filing of another housing discrimination lawsuit, alleging that the landlords violated state antidiscrimination laws by pursuing eviction proceedings against a tenant with a Section 8 housing voucher shortly after an infant joined the household.

• According to the [lawsuit], the tenant, who had been living in the [...] residence since 2006, informed the landlords that a newborn baby was joining the household and that the family needed a lead-safe unit. [...] The complaint further alleges that the landlords learned in May 2008 that the apartment would need to pass a lead inspection in order for the landlords to continue receiving payments under the Section 8 program. Shortly thereafter, in June 2008, the landlords initiated eviction proceedings [without abatement of the existing lead based paint condition in the apartment].(1)

For more, see AG Coakley Sues Hyde Park Landlord for Lead-Based Housing Discrimination.

(1) According to the press release, the Massachusetts Lead Paint Statute requires landlords who rent to families with children under the age of six to abate lead hazards in the unit in order to prevent lead poisoning. It is illegal for landlords to discriminate against families with children in order to avoid compliance with the lead paint law. It is also illegal in Massachusetts to discriminate against families with Section 8 vouchers because of requirements of the Section 8 program, including any requirements concerning lead paint inspection and abatement. This is the sixth lead paint discrimination and 17th housing discrimination case that Attorney General Coakley has filed since taking office in January 2007.