Gray areas in discrimination - have you ever unintentionally crossed that line?

Question

While we are having a good discussion on applicants with language challenges, I thought a more generalized discussion on other areas that may or may not fall under discrimination would be a worthwhile topic to refresh. I have seen a few isolated topics on some of those in the past.

One thing I really would love to do is to be able to screen by IQ and "common sense". The biggest problem is really common sense, or lack thereof. I have, on more than one occasions, on the phone said to someone "Sorry I don't rent to dumb asses like you" and hung up. I know I shouldn't have, but I did, and it felt good for a few seconds, then I wonder if I would get into trouble. I just assumed dumb asses wouldn't want to classify themselves into the dumb ass class, therefore, protected or not, I am safe.

One time I picked up the phone, and the caller said "Your place looks GREAT! The pictures are super nice, now are those real pictures? I just left a place and they posted faked pictures so that's why I am asking, and by the way, is it in a ghetto neighborhood? I am a southern 100 pound white girl I wouldn't want to be around others unlike me, I am not racist or anything but can you tell me about the others in your building?" I paused for a second and thinking...could this be some sort of mystery fair housing shopper? So I answered with "What do you do for a living?" She said she's a hair dresser. I told her there are no others like her as in no other hair dressers, and I rent to people of all shapes and colors. I often wonder if it's OK to tell an applicant the races/colors of the current tenants in the building.

I read a few articles where people debated whether some ads are discriminatory or not. One such case was an ad that advertised "...nice unit on X street, right behind St. Paul Church..." where the author suggests this is religion discrimination as it is implying it is seeking tenants of a certain religion. Is it though? Or is it simply referencing an well known landmark? Down here in South Florida, I see ads saying "5 minutes from the house of worship" all the time. So saying close to "House of Worship" is OK, but close to "Sinai Temple" is bad?

Along the same line, is saying "...perfect for INSERT A GROUP OF PEOPLE HERE..." discriminating against those who are outside of the group? For example:

"Across from the New River's public access, perfect for young professionals who enjoys kayaking and paddle boarding..." is saying "YOUNG" a no no due to age discrimination?

"Single family home with large back yard in a quiet neighborhood walking distance from A school, perfect for a family with children and pets..." is that showing preferences by familiar status?

Lastly, would it be illegal to give the applicant a questionnaire as part of an application? Something like:

1. What should not go down the garbage disposer?

A. Used oil after I did my oil change for my car B. Unwanted angel fruit cake gift from the inlaws C. A whole grapefruit D. Spam with the can E. ALL OF THE ABOVE.

2. I don't have money for rent next month, I should...

A. Mail my landlord a partial rent and hope that he wouldn't notice B. Inform my landlord ASAP and try to work out a solution C. Move out during the night and just disappear D. Write my landlord a check doomed to bounce and buy a few days E. Stop answering doors, block his calls and texts and go into hiding. F. Pretend I am sick and pick up the phone coughing each time.

3. I broke my landlord's lawn furniture and BBQ set, I should...

A. Inform my landlord ASAP and resolve it. B. Throw out the broken items and hope that my landlord would not notice what's missing C. Throw out ALL lawn furniture and hope my landlord would not notice everything is missing D. Wait after the lawn service visits then call my landlord and tell him the lawn service folks came by and you came home and found broken stuff. E. Throw it out then report them stolen.

well, you get the idea.

Richard C. · Answer

I think the only line I might have crossed, and I am not sure I did cross a line, technically, concerns advertising.

I once placed a rental ad on the back page of the bulletin of the local Catholic church. I know the lady who tries to get the ads filled, and I was doing her a favor. I wouldn't generally pay for advertisements at all. This was more on the order of a charitable gift.

I didn't advertise anywhere else. And obviously that ad would tend to be seen only by Catholics.

But I think technically I am OK. I think you can advertise where you want, as long as you do not express a discriminatory preference.

Colleen F. · Answer

Where I am never sure if I am crossing the line is on occupancy. My property is on septic and well and the law is unclear about how I can limit occupancy. I have one unit that is a two bedroom but I advertise it as one bedroom plus office because as a two bedroom I probably have to accept 4 people and 4 people put a lot of demand on the well pump. The one bedrooms I lean towards singles, don't say no to others but I think you always tend to describe things more positively to people you are interested in. You can say it has 1 closet or you can say it only has 1 closet. I don't think I could be as blunt as you on the calls but in my thoughts I am with you on the I don't rent to stupid...

I discriminate against PIAs if you are a PIA during the rental process chances I won't look at your application as positively as others. If you walk through the apartment and give me a laundry list of itsy bitsy fixes during application well I know you are not going to be happy you may love the older character but with that comes..... well the older character not all of which you like..

I also feel compelled to tell people who mention kids things that I didn't use to say to others. distance to water, fencing, other safety items. I am sensitive to water hazards and kids so if you had an unsupervised kid by the water you are out. Now I tell everyone.

Wilson Churchill · Answer

Usually I let calls go to voicemail. This allows me to call people back selectively. If I screen someone and find that they have had evictions, I just tell them that someone else that was qualified applied first, and that I take the first qualified person to be fair.

Marcia Maynard · Answer

Brilliant! I just might incorporate something of this nature into my tenant education!

Al Williamson · Answer

I've got to raise my hand here. I've tried to keep only one person per 1 bedroom for a long time. I've crossed the line only because I know couples break up trying to live in my 450 sf units.

I feel your pain.

Beth L. · Answer

@Sam Leon

I have tried my best to not cross the line with discrimination of protected classes.

I understand that any comments about things like "great for singles, roommates, families, etc." should be avoided. You shouldn't even ask how many "adults and children", only "occupants".

You can't discriminate on the number of occupants unless there is a good reason to do so (i.e. the septic system is a certain size and can only support waste water from a recommended number of occupants).

You can't target a certain age unless your unit is in a active senior resort, or something like that.

Even though you have a policy of "no pets", you cannot discriminate against someone with a service dog.

You can't use the name of a house of worship as a landmark since that would be taken as you are targeting occupants of that religion.

I am even so careful as not naming the college or hospital that one of my places is near, since I don't want to be accused of targeting only people who work there or attend school there.

But you CAN target these types of individuals in other ways. If you would prefer certain churchgoers, you can tell a friend who may attend there who can spread the word or hang a flyer on the bulletin board. If you know of someone who works at a particular establishment, they may have friends looking for an apartment close to work. Perhaps advertise at gas stations or other stores that these people may frequent.

I recently had someone call from my "For Rent" sign and tell me that another landlord she called said that they won't rent to "Spanish people". Yeah, that's totally NOT a gray area!

Oh, and I like your comment of screening for common sense. Being stupid is not a protected class!

Gray areas in discrimination - have you ever unintentionally crossed that line?

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