Gomez Testifies in Support of People Targeting Housing Discrimination

State Senator Adam Gómez (D-Springfield) testified last week before the Massachusetts Legislature’s Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure in support of his bill, S.245, An Act to end housing discrimination in the Commonwealth, aimed at providing the Attorney General and Fair Housing agencies with additional resources to enforce actions against brokers who discriminate against people of color, people with housing vouchers, and all other families and individuals in protected classes trying to rent an apartment or house.

Gómez stated, “Housing discrimination remains a painful reality in Massachusetts, particularly for Black renters and families who rely on housing vouchers. Despite existing laws, the protections we’ve promised too often fall short in practice. S.245 is about changing that. This legislation creates real accountability by ensuring that discrimination has consequences, and it strengthens the systems meant to uphold fairness in our housing market. Everyone deserves a fair chance at a safe, stable home, and this bill moves us closer to making that a reality.”

The bill filed by the Senator targets pervasive discrimination against people seeking to rent an apartment or house in Massachusetts, on the basis of race, housing voucher status, or any other illegal basis. This discrimination was documented in a report issued by the Boston Foundation, Suffolk University Law School, and Analysis Group, “Qualified Renters Need Not Apply,” available at bit.ly/MassHousingDiscriminationReport. The report found that, in spite of the fact that both racial discrimination and discrimination against households with housing vouchers are illegal in Massachusetts, such discrimination is commonplace, occurring far more often than not.

If passed into law, this legislation would target discrimination through the following mechanisms:

· Authorizes the Massachusetts Attorney General and Fair Housing Enforcement Agencies in Massachusetts to refer final judicial and administrative findings of discrimination by real

estate brokers for license suspension by the Board of Registration of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons, and requires the Board to temporarily suspend the broker’s license. (Under existing law, only the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination is authorized to refer cases to the Board for automatic suspension.)

· Providing the Attorney General and Fair Housing Enforcement Agencies with this authority will make it more likely that enforcement actions against brokers who discriminate result in license suspension, which would have a strong deterrent effect.

· Increases the license suspension period to 180 days for a second act of discrimination (vs. 90 days under the existing statute).

· Requires all individuals seeking a new or renewed real estate brokers’ license to take four hours of training on fair housing law or diversity and inclusion in real estate.

· Adds a new member to the Board of Registration of Real Estate Brokers and Salesmen, which reviews allegations of discrimination by real estate brokers - either an expert in fair housing and civil rights, or a tenant from a tenants’ organization who has a housing voucher.

· Requires the Board to publish at least quarterly a record of cases filed against, and disciplinary actions (including license suspensions) taken against, real estate brokers, including cases involving allegations of housing discrimination.

Advocacy in support of the legislation is being led by One Family (onefamilyinc.org), a Massachusetts-based nonprofit with a mission to prevent family homelessness. The legislation has been endorsed by The Boston Foundation, The Cambridge Human Rights Commission, Center for Housing Justice & Policy, CHAPA Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD), Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, One Family,