Legal Assistance Corporation sues Worcester landlords for illegal housing discrimination

January 16, 2009

InCity Times – incitytimes@hotmail.com

 

WORCESTER— The Legal Assistance Corporation of Central Massachusetts (LACCM) recently filed a housing discrimination lawsuit in Worcester Housing Court against landlords Ming Wei Le and Wei Gu, who own a rental apartment in Worcester. The suit was filed on behalf of Agnes Marti. The suit alleges that the landlords discriminated against Ms. Marti when they refused to let her rent their Bowdoin Street apartment solely because she had a young child.

 

According to the complaint, in the spring of 2008, Ms. Marti was searching for an apartment for herself and her 10-month-old daughter. She saw a listing online for an apartment she liked, but when she called the landlords, they inquired whether she had any children. After Ms. Marti said that she had a young daughter, the owners stated that the apartment had lead paint and refused to rent the apartment to her. 

 

According to Jane Edmonstone, Ms. Marti’s attorney at LACCM, because many of the houses in Worcester were built decades ago using lead paint, it is unfortunately fairly common to hear a landlord say that he or she won’t rent to a family because the apartment has lead paint or is not deleaded. “Many landlords know that if a family has a child six years old or younger living in an apartment, the landlord is required to pay to make the apartment safe from lead. To avoid this obligation, some landlords decide not to rent to anyone with young children. This is illegal. The Massachusetts anti-discrimination law and the federal Fair Housing Act prohibit a landlord from refusing to rent to someone, or offering different terms or conditions of rental, because of their familial status,” said attorney Edmonstone.

 

Jonathan Mannina, LACCM’s executive director, said that lawsuits such as Ms. Marti’s help fight discrimination by creating awareness of the fair housing laws and the penalties for violating them.  “Searching for a new apartment is hard enough, but for families facing discrimination, the process is even harder. Even though both state and federal laws protect people, many families and individuals still face discrimination in their search for housing,” said Mr. Mannina.

 

Attorneys at LACCM receive funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to assist residents of Worcester County in filing housing discrimination claims and protecting their rights. LACCM attorneys can be reached by calling 1-800-649-3718.