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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | February 17, 2021 02:41 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Anthony M. DeLuca |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Protecting Senior Citizens from Predatory Housing Groups |
| Two senior citizens in my district owned a duplex rental property. They advertised in the newspaper to rent one vacant unit. Because of the way the advertisement was worded, they were taken advantage of by a housing advocacy group. These constituents were renting an apartment in a house with noise issues. As good landlords, they wanted to make sure their tenants got along and so they specified in their advertisement that they sought a quiet tenant. Unfortunately, a housing advocacy group saw their advertisement and sued, claiming my constituents were discriminating based on familial status. My constituents did not know that familial status is a protected class and they would have certainly changed their advertisement had the housing advocacy group given them the opportunity to do so. I suspect that many of our constituents do not know that familial status is a protected class and could fall prey to the same victimization that my constituents faced. That is why I will be introducing legislation that would require a housing advocacy group to notify individuals when the group sees an advertisement that could constitute familial status discrimination. The individual would then have one week to correct the advertisement or face the possibility of legal action from the housing advocacy group. This legislation would not apply to companies that rent properties. I hope you will join me in supporting this legislation. |
Introduced as HB635