"Where are you from?"
That's a seemingly innocent question, an ice-breaker you
have probably asked a new acquaintance many a time.
But for one Massachusetts real estate agent, that question
cost him more than $60,000. While
finding an apartment for a new client, he asked that question, to which the
client responded "Venezuela."
Soon thereafter and without incident, the agent found them a rental and
they moved in.
But that question stuck with the renters, who later declared
that they found the question both upsetting - causing stress and sleeplessness
over a 3-year period - and discrminatory.
The Boston Fair Housing Commission agreed. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 151B and
the Boston Fair Housing Commission Regulations make it illegal for any licensed
real estate broker “to cause to be made any written or oral inquiry or record
concerning . . . national origin," and assessed the agent a total of
$61,500 in civil penalties, legal fees, and emotional distress. The full ruling can be found HERE.
That there was admittedly no impact on the quality of
service provided - or housing made available - was of no consequence to the
board. Also of little importance was
that instead of "Venezuela," the answer to that question could just
as easily been "Dorchester" or "Cambridge," with no
inference intended as to national origin.
Only in Massachusetts.
