Is it legal to discriminate renting a house based on age?

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CLKeenan

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I got a job working for GE in their Corporate CIS division for the spring and summer in their Information Management Leadership Program at their headquarters in Fairfield, CT. One of the houses myself, and two other college students who also received jobs in the area wanted to rent had no problems with renting the house to us based on our credit but when they found out that we were college students they told us we could not rent the house anymore.

Is that legal? Is there anything we can even do?

Thanks,
-Chris
 


I'm pretty sure it is illegal.

just found this:
"When Ana Ramirez began looking for an apartment in Toledo, Ohio, she saw a newspaper listing for an affordable two-bedroom condo available immediately. It seemed like the perfect place for Ana and her daughter. Ana phoned the rental office, and listened with growing excitement as the woman on the phone described the terrific features of the condo. Anticipation turned to dismay when the woman told her that children were not allowed in the complex. Because she works for the Toledo Fair Housing Center, Ana knew that the "no kids" policy was illegal. The center began a testing investigation that deployed individuals posing as renters to call the realtor and record the conversations. The realtor mentioned the "no kids" policy to all the testers, even acknowledging the policy was illegal. Ana filed a formal complaint to ensure that no other families would become victims of the unlawful "no kids" policy. Facing the judge's promise of a stiff punishment, the rental company is negotiating a settlement."
Human Faces of Housing Discrimination
 
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laws are laws, but ill tell you what if I own a piece of property and am looking to rent it out and I dont like you for whatever reason, I should not be obligated by any law to rent to you period! Its my property, if I dont want you for whatever reason, well then that should be that!
 
jerxs said:
laws are laws, but ill tell you what if I own a piece of property and am looking to rent it out and I dont like you for whatever reason, I should not be obligated by any law to rent to you period! Its my property, if I dont want you for whatever reason, well then that should be that!
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That’s absolutely true as no one can force anyone to make a deal. A fair deal is completed only by the consent of both the parties and not just by one.
I think some people who rent houses have an opinion that college students are careless about their property and are not safe as compared to families or married couples because of their age, partying habits, etc. One of my friends had also been through this same situation when he was out of his home town for studies but he got another one soon.
 
FHA will say it's illegal, but good luck proving it. Maybe threaten them, but it will be damn hard to prove it and not worth the effort. Go find another place.
 
I believe that discrimination is legal if the property is owned by someone that owns less than a certain number of units.

Regardless - would you want to live somewhere that the landlord did not want you?
 
FHA Below:

[FONT=Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act), as amended, prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings, and in other housing-related transactions, based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status (including children under the age of 18 living with parents of legal custodians, pregnant women, and people securing custody of children under the age of 18), and handicap (disability).
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I think age may qualify as a protected class actually. What this is saying is that if the guy is a jaerk and the reason isn't based on descrimination, fine, but if it is based solely on discrimination, no good. The hard part is proving that... no one is oging to put in writing I don't rent to black people, for example.
 
What if someone said in writing (email):

"I thought maybe these were seniors on their way to graduate school but I am uncomfortable w/ the ages, the proximity of the neighbors, and leaving my furniture in their care."

That was an email to the real estate agent that were using from the owner/landlord/listing agent (all the same person).
 
I dunno. I still think the owners are in the right legally. You could always fight it and they may give in. But if it came down to it, I think they'd win. Age isn't covered under this part of the civil rights act.
 
I disagree the owner's are right. I think that is discrimination based on your age and since that is in writing.... if you really want to waste your time and be a dick, you may win. Maybe look through the ywllow pages for a RE attorney that has a free 30 min consultation...????
 
damn right ill discriminate against some frat boys with their pants down to the middle of their ass and looking coked up wanting to rent one of my properties.
 
If you can't find any other properties that are worth renting and you feel offended by him, go ahead. Otherwise fuck that, who really cares the guy told you that he doesn't want you in his house, just go and torch the guys home and be done with it
 
Mate, seriously - get over it.

Forget this discrimination rubbish and think about it from the Landlord's point of view. He's made this decision not because he hates all people under a certain age or he's got something against college students - it's simply a business decision.

I'm guessing one of the reasons you're so keen to rent this house and are so disappointed you can't is because it's very nicely presented and well furnished. I also think you'll find that the reason it's so well presented is that the landlord's target market are an older more mature generation who will, statistically, treat his property with more care.

In the end it's his property and he has every right to screen potential tenants and protect his investment accordingly. I think you should respect that. :)

Does he have any reason to trust you more than any other generic college student or recent graduate?

I've been in a similar position - saw a nice property but the landlord wouldn't rent it to my mates and myself as we were young professionals and not a family. Disappointing but after a while we found better place where the landlord was happy to have us.

The last thing you want as a tenant is a bad landlord, or as a landlord is a bad tenant, and if you pursue this any further you're setting yourself up for trouble.

Kyle
 
I always found that landlords don't want to rent to a group of college students, if you wanted to rent the place by yourself I bet he would be fine with that. If I owned some decent properties there is no way in hell I'd rent them to several college students, I've been to college and I know what goes on.
 
Hmmmm if that really is in the email and you have proof it might be fun just to screw with them.... :)
 
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