Posted on 10/17/2016 12:07:30 PM PDT by PROCON
A recent court filing indicates that the Washington State Attorney General’s Office believes that denying a prospective tenant with a felony conviction is racially discriminatory.
A member of the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Unit served a Consent Decree on Dobler Management Company, a property management firm in Tacoma, after conducting a simulated test on whether the landlord was illegally discriminating against potential tenants.
According to the briefing sent to KTTH’s Todd Herman, in May, the state asked a tester to follow up on a rental property advertisement on Craigslist, which said the apartment complex would automatically deny renters with a felony record. The state’s tester confirmed that the unit was still available and asked if he could apply for the unit despite having a felony conviction. The leasing consultant responded via email that a “felony would be an automatic denial.”
“In denying the tester, the leasing consultant did not consider when the conviction occurred, what the underlying conduct entailed or what the tester had done since the conviction,” the state wrote in a consent decree filed in Pierce County Superior Court.
The state explains that there is a discriminatory link between criminal history and restriction of housing:
(Excerpt) Read more at mynorthwest.com ...
It’s racist to say felons are all minorities. Dem elitist Libs won’t live in minority neighborhoods themselves, but want everyone else to. Liberalism is a mental disease.
Really BAD idea unless you are a liberal moonbat. Take it from me. I lived there over 20 years.
btt
I would like to win a LOT of money in a lottery and then buy up one or two houses next to this liberal and start renting out to felons,drunks,etc at a fair rent of around 10.00 per month. Then I could say that I am not a racist!
GOOD RIDDANCE to the communist state I lived in for over 20 yrs. Now much happier in red neck northern Michigan!!!! It is a best kept secret how wonderful life is here.
Glad you found your senses in time.
Then have at least 3 felons live in the AG’s house and let’s see how this POS likes it.
BUT!!!! But does he know the landlords’ INTENT? Without intent, there is no crime! Send in the FBI! They couldn’t find intent with a flashlight!
Next up will be “if you’ve got a spare room that you’re not renting out, you are a landlord who is withholding shelter from the needy.”
No, no, the east side of the state where I reside is still quite sane.
There is a real liability issue here. If you rent to a known violent offender and that person harms someone on your property the victims will sue you and claim that you knew the person was a threat when you let them in. Catch-22
No doubt, but you are still subject to state laws.
“Legal question: Would the landlord incur liability if he rents to a known felon who then perpetrates crimes on the other residents? Doesn’t he have a duty to somehow protect them, or at least warn them?”
IANAL, but I can’t see that being legally actionable. No such duty. For the landlord to come to that conclusion means he does not trust the State to rehabilitate the felon with their superior wisdom and thus would probably become suspected of profiling under current diktat.
“In product law, wouldn’t this be a known, hidden defect? In landlord-tenant law, wouldn’t this be analogous to allowing the building to have an unmitigated, known, unsafe situation?”
Well, it wouldn’t be “known” unless the landlord profiled or prejudged the tenant, which might be good common sense but possibly illegal.
NOW, if the tenant became a nuisance (eg; by let’s say selling drugs and having loud parties or having undesirables come over in numbers) YES, landlords in CA have been prosecuted, I believe, for allowing a nuisance. But the nuisance has to be an actual nuisance before action can be justifiably taken; it can’t be taken out of profiling or prejudice.
Thank you for your question, comrade.
Or is there something that Eric Mandel is trying to say about the genealogical make up of most felons?
Now THAT is what is 1racist.
These are the same hypocrites that would have a conniption fit if one moved in next to their house.
Felons are likely to be repeat felons.
“Felon” is not a race.
The company made a big mistake. Just takes so from anyone and stack them up till you can pick a really good one. Be willing to have some vacancy.
Nope, felons are not a race per se - they are much more important than that.
Felons are a major Democrat constituency and voting bloc who need to be taken care of.
Buying land in Montana to retire to....
Given how easy it is to become a felon in this country, I disagree with popular wisdom here. Once had a family member almost railroaded into prison for a year because he was punched in a bar and the prosecutor tried to get him to plea to assault. He refused, as the incident wasn’t his fault. The jury found him innocent in about 3 minutes. If he’d agreed to plead, he would have been found guilty of assault and given probation. HE STILL CANNOT get a job in his old field because of the charges, even though he was found innocent.
There is no justice in our “Justice” system. I say give the felons 5 years to show they’ve turned the corner. After that, treat them like anyone else.
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