Housing

Housing Firms Used Discriminatory Facebook Ad Tool to Exclude Older Tenants: Lawsuit

Lawyers say the housing companies used Facebook’s advertising algorithm to systematically weed out older prospective tenants. In their filings Wednesday, lawyers include examples of allegedly discriminatory Facebook ads alongside screenshots of a feature that shows Facebook users why they are seeing certain ads on the social network. HuffPost Lawyers allege housing ads like this, which were …



Supreme Court Ruling Could Clear Way for Local Governments’ Lawsuit

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling this week could clear the way for a lawsuit by three metro Atlanta counties alleging that predatory lending practices by mortage lenders cost them hundreds of millions in lost property taxes and higher expenses in blighted neighborhoods. In a mixed ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court said cities can sue banks for alleged predatory lending practices that violate the Fair …


Lawsuit Seeks to End Housing Voucher Discrimination

In 2015, Texas became the only state in the country to pass a law protecting a landlord’s ability to refuse to accept housing vouchers. A new federal lawsuit filed last week alleges that law is unconstitutional and violates the Fair Housing Act.


Lawsuit Before Minnesota Supreme Court Tests Routine Housing Inspections

Rental licensing rules adopted by cities across Minnesota will be tested Wednesday when the state’s highest court hears arguments on whether landlords and tenants can block routine city housing inspections. The case, stemming from a Golden Valley dispute, tests the balance between privacy and a government’s responsibility to regulate health and safety. It has attracted the attention of a wide …



Baltimore Housing’s Sex-For-Repairs Case Settled—then Unsettled

A woman who was allegedly sexually assaulted by a city employee lost an $80,000 settlement because of a paperwork glitch. Didi—a nickname to protect the privacy of a sexual assault victim—is one of dozens, maybe hundreds, of public housing residents who were harassed or sexually assaulted by city maintenance employees in a sex-for-repairs scandal this year. But while more than 100 women were …




Residents Plan Lawsuits Against East Chicago, State Officials

A new series of pending lawsuits allege that local, state and federal officials knew about the levels of contamination at the West Calumet Housing Complex in East Chicago, yet did nothing to prevent residents from being exposed to the toxins. More than 250 individual tort claim notices, legal filings required before submitting a lawsuit to a court, were filed with the City of East Chicago, the …