Prosecutors with HUD announced this week that a New Hampshire landlord will pay $9,000 to settle allegations that he refused to rent to families with children in violation of the Fair Housing Act.
“The days of ‘no children allowed’ are long over,” said John Trasviña, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. The Fair Housing Act requires that families with kids be treated the same as any other tenants.
The victim in the case is a single mother with a 14-year-old child who claims she was rejected for a second floor unit. The landlord uses the first floor as an office, and said he was concerned about the potential noise if children were in the unit above.
According to the complaint, when the woman asked about the vacant unit, the landlord told her that families with children didn’t work out in the past because his business is below the rental unit. Allegedly, the landlord and his employees screened applicants and showed available apartments only to persons who did not have children.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, the landlord will pay $3,000 to the single mother and a $5,000 civil penalty to the government. In addition, he will pay $1,000 to three other victims affected by the company’s rental policy. The landlord’s management company was also named in the dispute and is bound by the terms of the settlement.
The landlord has agreed to take steps to market his apartments to families with children.
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