Oh, you have kids? Get out.

brettsinger — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 21:00:00 GMT

Parents Jamie Katz and Lisa Nocera have filed a lawsuit against New York City real estate firm Brown Harris Stevens, claiming that brokers did things such as refusing to show them an apartment because, "the owners would not rent to people with children because there was an outdoor space," and declining to show them another one because of "lead paint." The Fair Justice Housing Center sent in some spies, I mean, "couples posing as prospective renters with and without children," and they received similar treatment, according to the article in MetroNY. (OK, I do mean spies, only they don't have cool gadgets and stuff.)

Now, if there is real discrimination going on, that's a bad thing of course. But based on the limited information in the article, it doesn't sound that cut and dry. At worst, the people misbehaving would appear to be the landlords. Note that I have absolutely no idea what the specifics of the law are. But telling someone that a landlord doesn't want children in an apartment because it contains lead paint might actually be a good thing, right?

image: designofsignage.com

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Oh, you have kids? Get out.