Gulfport, MS – A Gulfport newspaper and a landlord are facing federal charges for discriminating against families with children in violation of the Fair Housing Act.
Penny Pincher, a weekly want-ad newspaper distributed along Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, is accused of accepting and publishing 10 advertisements for rental housing that stated illegal preferences against families with children. Lynn Cooley, the landlord, and her agent Michael Law are also charged with violating the Fair Housing Act by placing one of those ads and by orally stating an illegal preference against renting to families with children.
According to a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, the defendants’ actions are in direct violation of the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, and disability.
The lawsuit was prompted by complaints filed with the HUD by a fair housing group and a woman with three children who was searching for housing for her family. The woman’s search led her to Penny Pincher, in which she read Cooley’s ad offering a house for rent with the proviso, ‘no children.’
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division will continue to enforce fair housing laws that protect the rights of families with children, said Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez. ‘Housing discrimination against families with children has been illegal for more than 20 years, but it remains a persistent problem.’
The lawsuit seeks a court order prohibiting future discrimination by the defendants, monetary damages for those harmed by the defendants’ actions and a civil penalty.
Individuals who believe that they have been victims of housing discrimination can call the Housing Discrimination Tip Line at 1-800-896-7743 or contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777.
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