Connecticut Fair Housing Group Shakes $65K Out Of Landlord, Real Estate Agent, Brokerage To Settle Allegations (Without Admitting Liability) That They Refused To Rent To Family w/ Children

In Hartford, Connecticut, The Norwich Bulletin reports:

• The Connecticut Fair Housing Center(1) has settled a housing discrimination complaint brought against a Montville landlord accused of refusing to rent to a family with children.
  
  The complaint against ERA Realty Pros and one of its independent contractor real estate agents was recently settled for $65,000, according to the fair housing center.
  
  The Connecticut Fair Housing Center represented Christina Zielenski and Todd Browne, who were searching for housing in Montville. Zielenski has a 14-year-old daughter.
  
  Zielenski reportedly reached out to the real estate agent and requested more information, and was told that the landlord did not allow children, according to the center.
  
  The Connecticut Fair Housing Center, representing Zielenski and Browne, brought complaints against the landlord, real estate sales associate and real estate brokerage firm, alleging discrimination against them on the basis of family status, which is illegal under state law.
  
  The complaints, filed with the state's Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, alleged that the landlord illegally maintained a policy against renting to families with children, that the real estate agent illegally refused to rent to Zielenski and Browne because of the child in their household, and that the brokerage firm failed to adequately train and supervise its independent contractor sales associates to prevent them from refusing to rent to families with children.
  
  The three respondents agreed to settle the complaints without admitting liability, the center said.

For more, see Montville housing discrimination case involving family with child settled for $65K.

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(1) The Connecticut Fair Housing Center is a private, non-profit organization providing various services free of charge to Connecticut residents that deal with fair housing matters, including investigating housing discrimination complaints, providing advocacy and representation; referring victims of housing discrimination to attorneys and researching and giving technical assistance on issues related to fair housing. In addition, the Center has been working to ensure that homeowners in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure receive advice and, possibly, referrals to attorneys who are willing to take their foreclosure cases free of charge.

Persons can call the Fair Housing Center if they have been a victim of housing discrimination for any reason including, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, religion, family status, disability, marital status, age, sexual orientation or lawful source of income. Center staff solicits information from callers on the details of the alleged discrimination and may take the following actions: investigate the complaint, offer advice and counseling about fair housing laws, provide free legal representation or make referrals to legal representatives.