WASHINGTON, D.C., April 4, 2012 Today the Equal Rights Center (ERC)—a national non-profit civil rights organization—filed a lawsuit in the D.C. Superior Court against The Barac Co. (Barac), Sileshi Demeke, and New Tremont LLC, alleging that they violated the D.C. Human Rights Act’s prohibition on source of income discrimination by refusing to rent apartments to families using Housing Choice Vouchers.

“For 35 years our nation’s capital has been at the forefront of guarding civil rights through the protections of the D.C. Human Rights Act. For more than 10,000 families, this means that District landlords and property managers cannot refuse to rent to them merely because they want to use a voucher to pay their rent.” said Don Kahl, Executive Director of the ERC. “Fair Housing Month is a particularly appropriate time to reaffirm that equal housing opportunity is not only the law, it’s good business.”

According to the ERC’s Complaint, Defendant Barac acts as the property manager for a property owned by Sileshi Demeke located at 1401-03 Whittier Street NW (the Demeke Property), and another owned by New Tremont LLC located at 1307 12th Street NW (the Tremont Property).

According to the complaint, on three separate occasions in 2010, ERC testers contacted Barac about the Demeke Property and, after confirming that apartments were available, identified themselves as voucher holders. When asked if Housing Choice Vouchers were accepted, each tester was told that the Demeke Property “did not participate in that program.” Similarly, ERC testers contacted Barac about The Tremont Property and were also told that this property did not participate in the voucher program.

“The federal Housing Choice Voucher Program provides vital support to low-income families by allowing them to move to safe and affordable housing anywhere in their region, so long as the rent is within an approved range,” said Megan K. Whyte, Director of the Fair Housing Project for the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. “Voucher holders unable to secure housing because of discrimination can lose their vouchers—relegating them to unsafe or overcrowded housing, a shelter, or the streets.”

In 2011, the D.C. Housing Authority reported that 10,596 families in the District were being served by the Housing Choice Voucher Program, with nearly 35,000 more families on the waitlist. Since 2004, the ERC has monitored housing providers in the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area to measure compliance with source of income protections. In 2005, the ERC published its first report documenting a 61% rate of discrimination against voucher holders in the District. Based on this investigation, the ERC reached more than 20 agreements with landlords and property managers, ultimately opening more than 15,000 apartment units to voucher holders. In 2010, the ERC undertook a second study, and found an improved, but still unacceptable, 45% rate of discrimination against voucher holders in the District. As a result of this testing, the ERC released a report in 2011, and has now reached agreements with another five District housing providers, ensuring that an additional 2,500 apartment units are open to voucher holders. This lawsuit derives from the ERC’s 2010 testing.

The ERC is represented in this matter by the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs, and Hogan Lovells LLP.

Click here to read the ERC’s 2011 report, Still in Search of Decent Housing: A Five Year Reflection on Discrimination Against Housing Choice Voucher Holders in the District of Columbia.

About the Equal Rights Center (www.equalrightscenter.org)
Originally formed in 1983, the Equal Rights Center (ERC) is a national non-profit civil rights organization based in Washington, D.C. With members located in every state and the District of Columbia, the ERC works nationally to promote equal opportunity in housing, employment, disability rights, immigrant rights, and access to public accommodations and government services for all protected classes under federal, state, and local laws.

About the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs (www.washlaw.org/)
The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs was established in 1968 to provide pro bono legal services to address issues of discrimination and entrenched poverty. Since its founding, the Committee has handled more than 5,000 cases on behalf of individuals and advocacy organizations in the areas of equal employment, fair housing, public accommodations, public education, asylum and refugee rights, disability rights, and prisoners’ rights.

About Hogan Lovells LLP (www.hoganlovells.com)
The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs was established in 1968 to provide pro bono legal services to address issues of discrimination and entrenched poverty. Since its founding, the Committee has handled more than 5,000 cases on behalf of individuals and advocacy organizations in the areas of equal employment, fair housing, public accommodations, public education, asylum and refugee rights, disability rights, and prisoners’ rights.