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A pending class-action lawsuit against New York City rental agency Brown Harris Stevens is the first I’ve ever heard of. They are being sued for discriminating against families with children. Jamie Katz and Lisa Nocera were the first to notice something amiss as apartment after apartment, they heard from their rental broker that the owners of desirable apartments could not rent to kids because of lead paint in the property.

Going with their guts that something was amiss, they contacted their lawyers, and with nonprofit organization, the Fair Housing Justice Center’s involvement, sent undercover would-be tenants to the agency. One reported they had children and one did not. The one with child were discouraged from viewing certain properties while one without had no troubles viewing any properties.

The suit seeks to order Brown Harris Stevens, one of the city’s most respected rental firm, to train its brokers to “comply with the law”, as well as payment for unspecified damages to the couple. But the broker who had shown the properties deny any wrongdoing.

The original article on NY Times cites examples of many Craigslist ads specifying “no kids” in their terms, which is in violation of federal and state laws. It would be very interesting to see what the outcome of this lawsuit will be, and whether a ruling for the couple will make an impact on the rampant discrimination against families with children going on today.

Tags: Brown Harris Stevens, craigslist, no kids, ny times, rental discrimination