Another Landlord Finds Himself In HUD Hot Water; Allegedly Refused To Rent Apartment To Massachusetts Man, Pregnant Wife & 2-Year Old Child Over Presence Of Lead Paint In Pre-1978-Built 4-Unit Home

The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development ("HUD") recently announced:

• The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced [] that it is charging the owner of a Springfield, Massachusetts rental property with violating the Fair Housing Act by refusing to rent an apartment to a husband and wife with children. The landlord was also charged with printing discriminatory statements in his lease and retaliating against the family after they complained. Read HUD’s charge.
  
  The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to deny or limit housing because a family has children under the age of 18, to make statements that discriminate against families with children, and to retaliate against any person for exercising rights under the Fair Housing Act.
  
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  HUD’s discrimination charge comes after the parents of a two-year-old child filed a complaint with HUD claiming that the landlord denied them the opportunity to rent an apartment in the four-unit property because, according to the landlord, the property contained lead hazards and was therefore unsuitable for children under the age of six. The complainants were already residing in an apartment in the building with the wife’s mother at the time they attempted to rent their own apartment.
  
  The charge alleges that the landlord told the family that he would not rent an apartment to them because they had a child under the age of six and were also expecting another baby. The charge further alleges that the landlord had a policy prohibiting children younger than six from residing on the premises and requiring pregnant women to notify the landlord and vacate their apartment.
  
  The charge alleges that almost immediately after the complainants filed their complaint with HUD, the landlord began eviction proceedings against them and the wife’s mother.
  
  HUD guidance on lead paint and Fair Housing Act requirements makes it clear that while property owners may tell families about housing units that have not been remediated for lead paint, the presence of lead-based paint cannot be used as a reason to refuse to rent. In addition, Massachusetts state law requires owners to remediate lead when a child occupies a unit built before 1978. The Lead Law requires the removal or covering of lead paint hazards in homes built before 1978 where any children under six live.

Source: HUD Charges Massachusetts Landlord With Discrimination Against Families With Children (Families with children refused housing; women who became pregnant evicted).