They seemed like a regular family with children, looking for an apartment in the city.
But when the would-be renters called offices of a Boston rental agency, they were refused information about advertised rentals and were steered away from apartments that were not de-leaded.
What the rental agents didn’t know was that these renters were actually students from Suffolk University Law School’s Housing Discrimination Testing Program (HDTP) posing as renters with children. Based on the results of their housing discrimination testing, the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) initiated a formal complaint and investigation into the leasing practices of the offices of a Boston rental agency.
MCAD Commissioner Sheila A. Hubbard determined there was sufficient evidence to support the allegations of housing discrimination under state and federal anti-discrimination laws. MCAD entered into a consent decree with the rental agency, which agreed to cease any discriminatory leasing practices, make a charitable donation of $6,000 to Suffolk’s testing program, and send agents to fair housing training.
Suffolk’s HDTP has been collecting evidence of housing discrimination and regularly refers cases to state and local enforcement agencies. Suffolk Law students help create, conduct and participate in housing discrimination tests. Since 2012, the HDTP has received $3.1 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Boston Foundation, and the Hyams Foundation to eliminate housing discrimination in the Boston metro area through testing, enforcement, education, and research.
Professor William Berman, director of the Housing Discrimination Testing Program