California Landlord Coughs Up $4,500 To Settle State Fair Housing Complaint Over Alleged Refusal To Rent To A Couple Because Hubby Was A Marine & Possible Overseas Deployment Might Cause Them To Break Lease

In Orange County, California, The Orange County Register reports:

• The [California] Department of Fair Employment and Housing has settled a complaint against a landlord who allegedly refused to rent to a couple because the husband was a Marine who might be deployed.
  
  Viridiana Mendez asked about renting a Dana Point condo in April 2016 to share with her husband Albert Quintanilla and their daughter, according to the DFEH.
  
  Mendez said the landlord had no issue renting to her until learning that Quintanilla was a Marine and the family might vacate the unit before the end of the lease term if he was deployed overseas. The landlord allegedly would not even give her a rental application because of her husband’s service.
  
  “The sacrifices made by service members, including their agreement to deploy overseas if duty calls, should not be compounded by refusing to rent to their families,” said DFEH Director Kevin Kish in a statement [go here for Spanish version].
  
  Under the settlement, the landlord will pay $4,500 and undergo training on fair housing laws.

Source: Dana Point landlord to pay $4,500 for denying Marine’s family a rental application (A landlord will pay $4,500 for denying a woman a rental application because her husband was a Marine).