Source: WCAX.com, April 9, 2010

“Housing discrimination claims continue to rise in Vermont, but an organization is confronting the issue head-on.

You may have seen these commercials on TV where landlords unlawfully discriminate against potential tenants. Now while the person you saw in the public service announcement was an actor, agencies in Vermont hire real live people, to visit landlords in person. They might send two people of the same socio-economic background, but of different races, to determine if a landlord is discriminatory.

“Housing discrimination is very difficult to prove, and that’s one of the reasons why we do testing and one of the reasons why testing has been found by every court that’s considered it including the U.S. Supreme Court a valid, way to gather discrimination evidence,” said Rachel Batterson of Vermont Legal Aid.

Robert Appel from the Human Rights Commission says that the most common discrimination stems from tenants with minor children and Vermonters with disabilities. Race discrimination is third on that list, although it is disproportionately high for the state’s low minority population.

“Some landlords feel like they can bend the law to their liking, and take who they want where they are obligated by law to give equal consideration to all applicants, whether they have kids, whether they have a disability, whether they are a minority person,” he said.

While testing often results in legal action for landlords, it can also serve as a learning opportunity, Vermont Legal Aid will submit letters to landlords informing them of their test findings offering counseling and training to increase awareness.

“I do think landlords see us as adversaries, in our testing role, our job is not adversarial,” said Batterson.

But argues that understanding the law is key to abiding by it.

“I disagree with the idea that, tenants have all the rights and landlords don’t have any rights in Vermont. If you’re in business, you have to understand the laws that govern what you do,” said Batterson.

Vermont Legal Aid also says discrimination may occur when the terms and conditions of your lease are different from those of the landlord’s other tenants.

For more information on this issue, click here to visit the Fair Housing project website.

Melinda Davenport – WCAX News”

Full story and link to video:  Housing Horrors Part 3

For PDF of full article, click here.