Posted on 06/30/2005 4:11:18 AM PDT by Momaw Nadon
CONCORD, N.H. - Six newspapers in New Hampshire have agreed to stop running real estate ads that suggest children aren't welcome at the properties following complaints that the ads violated federal law.
Several dozens landlords and real estate agents also agreed to stop placing ads targeting adult tenants and to submit future ads to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for review.
Federal law prohibits landlords from discriminating against children.
The ads included promotions like "one mature person," "quiet adult location" and "great for a single person." They are discriminatory because they make it harder for families to rent out the locations, said Christine Lavallee of New Hampshire Legal Assistance. She said the problem of families that have trouble renting is widespread.
"It's a longstanding issue in New Hampshire," said Amy Lockwood, executive director of Concord Area Trust for Community Housing. "From time to time, I've seen plenty of newspaper ads that say, 'No kids, no pets.' "
The landlords who were cited have agreed to pay up to $100 to a homeless shelter and the newspapers are required to attend a training session for classified advertising managers.
The six newspapers include the Portsmouth Herald, the Weirs Times, the Conway Daily Sun, Foster's Daily Democrat, the Claremont Eagle-Times and papers with the Salmon Press.
Conway Daily Sun publisher Mark Guerringue said he had no idea his paper had violated the regulations and wishes he had been contacted directly so the paper could correct the ads.
Sandra Titus, the classified advertising manager for the Portsmouth Herald, said her newspaper never published anything explicitly saying no families were allowed.
"When you have a landlord with a one-bedroom apartment and you want to say 'one-person,' it makes sense but it's not allowed," she said.
Personally, I can't stand the little nosepickers. Is it still legal to say that, or do I have to check with Justice Souter first?
Time for a bit of civil disobedience.
Landlords will be forced to rent to known deadbeats.
It's much better for families to allow them to come see the one-bedroom apartment, submit an application (pay an application fee?) and then be rejected because they just "weren't the right fit...."
And they wonder why people are moving south in droves.
Hey, I can't stand when I see an ad such as "One bedroom apt $300, 123 Elm St." Only to drive there and find it's a crack house in the ghetto. They should somehow indicate (though I don't know what they can say that would be legal) that it's in the hood.
Which enumerated power gave the congress the right to do this?' Oh, yeah, interstate commerce . . .
Just one more example of the Death of the Republic...
So if you're a lonely landlord, you can't limit your tenants to adults, but if you're a big developer, you can build new "adult-only communities" for those 55+?
In fact, adult-only communities typically have very strict rules on whether children are allowed to visit, and for how long.
The adult communities are springing up all over here in southern NH. The towns love them because they don't burden the schools.
Personally, I think discrimination ought to be legal and face the repercussions of the marketplace. If someone owns an apartment complex and states that he only wants to rent to single blond hair, blue-eyed women under thirty with big hooters than that should be his prerogative. And when half of his units sit empty because he turns away perfectly good tenants who don't meet his requirements, than he is the one facing the consequences of his discriminatory policies.
Likewise, if someone wants to open a "whites only" restaurant, that should be their right. And if people choose not to patronize his business because of the owner's bigoted rules, that should be their right as well. When (or if) his business fails, then the marketplace has spoken and the owner may choose to re-evaluate his policies.
I just don't agree with all these government regulations "forcing" people to get along with each other.
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