Louisiana Landlords to Pay $172K to Settle Race Discrimination Claims

The Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC) recently announced a $172,000 settlement in a lawsuit accusing the owners and managers of a Louisiana community of race discrimination.

According to the GNOFHAC, it launched an undercover investigation based on suspicions about alleged discrimination by sending testers posing as prospective residents. The complaint alleged that the defendants repeatedly misrepresented the availability of advertised rental property to African Americans because of their race, refused to rent to African Americans, and kept a handwritten list of prospective residents, which included various notations, including racial epithets.

“Racial discrimination in housing is illegal and unacceptable. Our investigations uncovered clear evidence of egregious and blatant discrimination against prospective African-American tenants, solely on the basis of their race,” Cashauna Hill, GNOFHAC Executive Director, said in a statement. “These kinds of discriminatory practices persist in our area’s rental markets, and we encourage anyone who suspects they may have been discriminated against while trying to rent a home to report their suspicions to the Fair Housing Action Center.”

Source: GNOFHAC