North Ridgeville Landlord Faces Housing Discrimination Charges

North Ridgeville Landlord Faces Housing Discrimination Charges

A North Ridgeville landlord has been accused of discriminating against African American renters at a local apartment complex. Emil Bagi, owner of Ridgeway Management Ltd., has agreed to pay $30,000 to settle claims that he and his management company discriminated against African Americans at the Ridge Plaza Apartments.

According to documents filed with the settlement agreement, the Justice Department alleges that Bagi and Ridgeway Management Ltd. discriminated against African Americans by quoting higher rental and application fee rates to them than to white apartment seekers. The complaint also alleges that African American testers were refused the opportunity to view vacant units, while white testers were shown such units.

The allegations are based on evidence obtained by the Justice Department’s fair housing testing program. The department sent African-American and white testers posing as prospective renters to the complex, and the African-American testers were quoted higher rents and application fees than the white testers.

Bagi and Ridgeway Management Ltd. will establish a settlement fund of $20,000 to compensate persons harmed by the alleged discrimination and a $10,000 civil penalty to the United States. The defendants will also establish non-discriminatory rental policies, obtain fair housing training, and submit to reporting and monitoring requirements for the three-year term of the settlement.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Molly Moran for the Civil Rights Division stated, ‘It is simply unacceptable for a landlord to make renting an apartment more difficult and more expensive because of a person’s race.’

U.S. Attorney Steven M. Dettelbach for the Northern District of Ohio added, ‘The Department of Justice is committed to enforcing the Fair Housing Act using every tool at our disposal. This landlord got caught by fair housing testers trying to charge higher rent to minority applicants. He failed the test miserably – and now he has to pay the price.’

Fighting illegal housing discrimination is a top priority of the Department of Justice. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, and familial status.

Individuals who believe that they may have been victims of housing discrimination at Ridge Plaza should contact the Justice Department at 1-800-896-7743 or by email at fairhousing@usdoj.gov. Persons who believe they have experienced housing discrimination elsewhere may contact the Justice Department or contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777 or through its website at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp.