WBUR, February 21, 2024, 20 Landlords, Property Companies Sued For Discrimination By Housing Watchdog
A nonprofit housing watchdog group is suing 20 Boston-area property companies and real estate brokers for allegedly discriminating against low-income tenants. The lawsuit, brought by the Lawyers for Civil Rights and Handley Farah & Anderson on behalf of the group Housing Rights Initiative, alleges landlords and brokers refused to rent to tenants with government-subsidized housing vouchers.
Lawyers for Civil Right said in a statement that the nonprofit used “testers” to act as prospective tenants requesting information about apartments. The companies and brokers at first “responded positively” to the inquiries, but then allegedly refused to accept housing vouchers, often called “Section 8” vouchers.
