U.S. Department of Justice Marcos Daniel Jiménez United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida
	99 N.E. 4th Street Miami, FL 33132 (305) 961-9001

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SETTLES LAWSUIT
WITH FORT LAUDERDALE APARTMENT COMPLEX
FOR DISCRIMINATING AGAINST INDIVIDUALS WITH CHILDREN

Department today announced the settlement of a lawsuit alleging discrimination based on familial status by the owner of the South Bank Apartments in Fort Lauderdale.

The government’s lawsuit alleged that the owner violated the Fair Housing Act by refusing to rent to families with children and pressuring pregnant women and families with children to leave the building. Rental leases for the South Bank Apartments expressly included a clause forbidding any children under 18 years old from living at the apartment complex. The owner also pressured several long-term residents to move out of the building after they had their first child. According to the consent decree, one of the victims stated that after she became pregnant, an employee led her to believe that she would have to move out of the building following her child’s birth.

“No woman should have to choose between a baby or a home,” said R. Alexander Acosta, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “Parenthood cannot be a barrier to housing. We will not hesitate to enforce the law where we find evidence of landlords discriminating against families with children.”

Under the consent order, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida and must be approved by the court, the owner will pay a total of $70,000 to four families with children and a $5,000 civil penalty to the United States. The discriminatory rental policy has been discontinued.

The case was referred to the Department of Justice by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“Access to housing is a right that this office takes very seriously,” said United States Attorney Marcos Daniel Jimenez. “I am proud of the joint work that our prosecutors, Veronica Harrell-James and Stephanie Fidler, did with the Department of Justice attorney Allen Levy. Those persons that illegally discriminate against others should know that the federal government will pursue all available remedies against them.”

“Over 15 years ago, Congress said housing discrimination against families with children has no place in America,” said Carolyn Peoples, Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “HUD, with the Department of Justice, will continue to enforce the Fair Housing Act on behalf of America’s families.”

The case was jointly handled by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.

Since January 1, 2001, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division has filed 131 cases to enforce the Fair Housing Act, including 31 based on familial status discrimination.

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