Discrimination when renting an apartment
It’s my property, so I can rent to whoever I want.” This attitude is understandable, but landlords must realize that there are legal limits on landlord decisions today. A landlord’s tastes can be reasonable, strict, or peculiar, but cannot be based on race, religion, or other categories protected by tenant law.
- Can I pick and choose tenants to my liking?
- What is “retaliatory eviction” about?
Can I pick and choose tenants to my liking?
Yes, within the limits established by the law of owners.
Federal, state, and local landlord laws make it illegal for landlords to “discriminate.” But people sometimes say “That’s discrimination!” without understanding what is forbidden.
Federal laws prevent landlords from discriminating on the basis of race, religion, sex, ethnicity, and disability. Some state and local laws go further and prohibit discrimination based on marital status, sexual orientation, presence of children, and age.
But as long as you don’t discriminate for one of the reasons listed, you can rent to whomever you want. If you don’t want smokers in your building, or you see a prospective tenant as a poor credit risk (even if you’re wrong), or for some other non-prohibited reason you just don’t like the person, there’s no law against you. turn away a tenant for that reason.
If you are threatened with a discrimination claim, consult an attorney immediately. You may be facing a lawsuit for huge money damages.
What is “retaliatory eviction” about?
Sometimes it seems that a landlord has a “right” to evict. He has given adequate notice to terminate a month-to-month lease, or a fixed-term lease has expired. If the tenant doesn’t move, he will sue to evict him, and the tenant’s position seems hopeless. But even when it appears that the landlord’s right to evict is absolute, the courts may refuse to help if the reason behind your desire to evict is to “retaliate” against the tenant for exercising some legal right.
Suppose the tenant has month-to-month rent and the landlord refuses to fix a leaky roof. The tenant complains to the city’s housing inspection department and the landlord learns about the complaint. Since he doesn’t want such a troublemaker, he hands her a notice of termination of his lease. If she doesn’t move and he sues to evict, the tenant can raise the “retaliatory eviction” defense. If you prove the landlord’s motive (which may not be easy), the court will refuse to evict you. Evicting her in this situation would discourage other tenants from reporting code violations. Because code enforcement agencies rely (in part) on tenant complaints, and one of the basic purposes of the code enforcement program would be undermined. The court will refuse to assist the landlord in undermining the efforts of another government agency.