BOSTON (Legal Newsline) — Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced Feb. 28 three separate settlements related to disability-based housing discrimination against tenants.
The three cases each involve allegations of property owners and managers discriminating against tenants by failing to reasonably accommodate disabilities.
In the first case, the Related Companies Inc., Related Washington Heights LLC and Related Management Company L.P. will pay a total of $75,000, including $60,000 in damages to the tenant and $15,000 to Massachusetts.
In the second case, Mission Park LP, Roxbury Tenants Association of Harvard (RTH) Inc. and Trinity Management LLC will pay a total of $60,000, including $40,000 in damages to the complainants, $15,000 to Massachusetts and $5,000 for an education program for tenants with disabilities.
In the third case, New Depot Crossing LP, Hallkeen Management Inc. and Dianne Callahan will pay a total of $20,000, including $15,000 in damages to the tenant and $5,000 to Massachusetts.
“When landlords refuse to make reasonable accommodations for tenants with disabilities, it compromises the health, safety and quality of life of our residents,” Healey said. “My office enforces our fair housing laws to ensure that people are treated with dignity and can access housing in our state.”
Handling these cases for the state were staff from the attorney general's Civil Rights Division, including assistant attorneys general D’Andre Fernandez, Kimberly Strovink, and division chief Genevieve Nadeau, with assistance from Colleen Frost of the Civil Investigations Division.