Legal Services Firm Files Housing Discrimination Suits Alleging Bias Against Families With Kids; Landlords Accused Of Failure To De-Lead Apartments

In Worcester, Massachusetts, the nonprofit legal services firm Legal Assistance Corporation of Central Massachusetts (LACCM) last month filed two housing discrimination lawsuits on behalf of tenants alleging unlawful housing practices by steering parents of minor children away from apartments, or refusing to show them apartments in an attempt to avoid the cost of remediating potential lead-based paint issues in the apartments.

• [L]egal Assistance Corp. [...] stated that according to the 2000 Census, nearly 85 percent of the houses in Worcester were built before 1978, and most likely contain lead paint. A landlord is required to make an apartment safe from lead paint if the tenant family has a child six years or younger living in the apartment, Legal Assistance Corp. said.

• Some landlords may decide not to rent to families with young children in an attempt to avoid the cost of deleading, the plaintiff stated. It is illegal under state and federal fair housing laws for an owner or realty agent to refuse to rent to someone because of their familial status, Legal Assistance added.

For more, see:

• Realty firm facing suit over rentals (Families allegedly told children not allowed),
• Legal Assistance Corporation sues Worcester landlords for illegal housing discrimination.