Springfield Landlord Charged with Housing Discrimination

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that they have charged a Springfield, Massachusetts landlord for violating the Fair Housing Act. The Housing Discrimination Project, doing business as The Massachusetts Fair Housing Center, provided the testing evidence for this case. HUD stated that it is charging Craig Robbins with refusing to rent or show an apartment to families with children because he did not have a lead certificate for the unit. The release explains that the landlord first advertised the apartment on Craigslist and “in response to the ad, the Housing Discrimination Project, a HUD-supported fair housing group, sent in testers to determine whether Robbins was discriminating against families with children.” The release explains that the testers found considerable evidence showing that Robbins was discriminating against families with children therefore leading to HUD’s charges against Robbins. To read this HUD Press Release, please visit http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2011/HUDNo.11-235