$125,000 Settlement for Steering Children Into Certain Buildings

The leasing agent for a North Attleboro apartment complex recently incurred what may be a record-breaking expense for their owner. The US Department of Justice settled with the complex owner for $125,000.

The leasing agent allegedly attempted to keep certain buildings "quiet" by steering families with children into other buildings. Under federal law, it is illegal to discriminate on the basis of family status.

Whether the leasing agent actually did discriminate remains unclear. The owner settled "to avoid an expensive and drawn out legal battle."

According to the complaint filed by the US Department of Justice, the leasing agent's principle mistake was callousness: "You will see some kids there ’cause if they are born there I can’t throw them away. They have to stay there." "The children we put in family buildings down in back,” with separate buildings for “working professionals so the kids aren’t running around screaming.”

The leasing agent said these things in conversations with government testers posing as prospective renters.

“Families should be able to rent and live where they choose, without being discriminated against because they have children,” said United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, in a press statement on the Royal Park case.

In cases like these, there typically is only a murky assessment of actual harm done. Most of the fine is to be paid to victims, but they were neither named nor particulars detailed. We do not know whether it can be independently verified that the settlement will actually be distributed to anyone. This is a shame. If the victims were quiet families whose children were angels, landlords might denounce the leasing agent.

But as it stands, settlements like these are funded by the United States Department of Justice, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Attorney General as a scare tactic. They do little to educate landlords or the public about what is actually happening.

One comment from the related Boston.com article was from a user named Livinlynn: "What is so wrong about steering families with children to a different part of the complex? Even the T has quiet cars."

That's a fair question. This is clearly not the worst kind of discrimination case, where a family seeking to rent was outright denied. They were merely separated.

But as years of civil rights law has reinforced, separate is inherently unequal. The leasing agent was overt about their separation tactics. The exact cost to families may never be known.

So what's going to result from this settlement? The landlord might just keep doing the same discriminatory thing while biting their tongue a little harder.

Here's some food for thought: Some children create noise and additional wear and tear while others do not. There is no law that says you must rent to every family with children. You just can't make blanket statements about whether you will or won't. Keep an open mind.