WASHINGTON, D.C – Attorney General Karl A. Racine today announced the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) won four lawsuits brought to defend District residents from discrimination. As a result of these lawsuits, the defendants must pay civil penalties and fees to the District totaling over $360,000, change their policies to expand access to affordable housing, and ensure they are trained in fair housing rules.

Two of the lawsuits involved holding accountable real estate professionals, property owners, and landlords who posted illegal and discriminatory advertisements against housing voucher holders online. A third involved a landlord making racially discriminatory statements to a potential tenant, expressing her preference for “white tenants.” The fourth lawsuit involved real estate companies and agents that denied a resident’s reasonable accommodation request for a designated disability parking space. District law prohibits businesses or individuals from discriminating against residents based on a wide range of traits, including disability, race, color, and source of income (such as the use of vouchers to pay rent).

“Most landlords treat tenants fairly and comply with the District’s strong anti-discrimination laws. But when housing providers discriminate based on race, disability, or voucher status, my office will take action,” said AG Racine. “These four cases demonstrate my office’s commitment to protecting our most vulnerable residents. When we see wrongdoing, we will file suit—and win those cases—to ensure that bad actors are held accountable. Ensuring that my office has the authority and resources to continue to prosecute these cases is a critical priority, and I look forward to the Council’s enactment of further legislation to cement our civil rights work.”

The District’s Human Rights Act (DCHRA) broadly outlaws discrimination based on twenty-one traits including race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and disability. The law also specifically prohibits housing discrimination based on source of income, meaning that landlords cannot refuse to rent to prospective tenants if they use vouchers or other subsidies to pay rent. More than 10,000 low-income District households depend on the federally funded Housing Choice Voucher Program, commonly called Section 8 vouchers, to rent housing. And many more District residents receive other types of housing vouchers and subsidies. Discrimination against voucher holders disproportionately affects Black residents. In the District, more than 90% of housing voucher holders are African American, although African American residents make up only 48% of the District’s total population. OAG has temporary enforcement authority under the DCHRA which it uses to defend and protect the civil rights of District residents, and it has introduced legislation to further expand that authority and make it permanent to stop discrimination against more residents.

Details on OAG’s new housing wins:

4530 Hillside Road SE:  
Stephen Talley, acting without a real estate professional license, posted a discriminatory advertisement for a property located in Ward 7. The ad stated “NO HCVP VOUCHERS . . . MARKET RENT ONLY.” Mr. Talley also refused to rent both the Hillside Property and another property located at 5736 27th Street NW to prospective tenants because of their source of income. This is the first case OAG litigated to completion under its DCHRA enforcement authority. Because of OAG’s lawsuit, Mr. Talley will be required to:

• Maintain written anti-discrimination policies.
   
• Conduct fair housing training for employees.
   
• Report to the District all claims of discrimination for a period of three years.
   
• Pay $30,000 in civil penalties and pay the District’s full request for attorneys’ fees and costs of $75,401.25. 

A copy of the complaint is available here. 
 
A copy of the order is available here. 

131 R Street NE:
Realtor José Burrello and his brokerage company, The Burrello Group, posted nine discriminatory ads for this Ward 5 property stating: “Not approved for vouchers.” The ads were posted on several popular rental housing websites. Because of OAG’s lawsuit, Mr. Burrello will be required to:

• Maintain written anti-discrimination policies.
   
• Conduct fair housing training for employees.
   
• Report to the District all claims of discrimination for a period of three years.
   
• Pay $158,000 in civil penalties, representing a per-day penalty for each day the advertisement was posted online, and pay the District’s full request for attorneys’ fees and costs of $79,490.80.

A copy of the complaint is available here.

A copy of the order is available here.

3929 13th St NW:
Afolake Elizabeth O-Shokunbi, a local property owner and landlord, indicated a preference for white tenants in conversations with a Black prospective tenant looking to rent the defendant’s property. The tenant, who at the time had custody over her 16-year-old daughter, 10-year-old niece, 5-year-old nephew, and 3-year-old granddaughter, participates in the Housing Choice Voucher Program, and required security deposit payment assistance. The District proved that the defendant violated District law when she questioned the prospective tenant via text message about whether she would be a good tenant, and then stated she “never had any problems with [her] white tenants.” The District’s Office of Human Rights initially investigated this matter and referred it to OAG. Under the terms of the Court’s decision, Ms. O-Shokunbi will be required to:

• Maintain written anti-discrimination policies.
   
• Conduct fair housing training for herself and any employees.
   
• Report to the District all claims of discrimination for a period of three years.
   
• Pay $20,000 to the District: $5,000 of which will go to the tenant in damages.

A copy of the complaint is available here.

A copy of the order is available here.

2501 25th St SE:
OAG filed a lawsuit alleging that property management company Delwin Realty discriminated against a tenant at Hillcrest House Apartments who requested a designated parking space within 200 feet of her apartment to accommodate her disabilities. Given her mobility issues, the tenant could not walk long distances without suffering significant pain. Despite acknowledging her disability and being able to simply designate a space for her, the defendants denied the request for almost four years, and instead urged her to move to “another community” or to senior housing. In a recent decision, the D.C. Superior Court determined that the denial of the tenant’s reasonable accommodation violates the DCHRA and held all four defendants responsible for the violations: Delwin Realty, LLC, plus property owner KEM Associates, LLC, and Delwin employees Gary Evans and Jamaal Opie. OHR referred this case to OAG following its own investigation.

A copy of the complaint is available here.

A copy of the liability judgment is available here.

Protecting Civil Rights
OAG’s Civil Rights Section, established in 2019, investigates and brings lawsuits to challenge discriminatory policies and practices that harm District residents. OAG has filed suit against Daro Management for unlawfully discriminating against low-income renters, and reached settlements with Evolve, LLC and Curtis Investment Group for similar claims, requiring the companies to pay up to $250,000 and $900,000 to the District, respectively. In July 2020, OAG announced a tranche of lawsuits against 16 real estate companies and professionals engaged in illegal source of income discrimination. OAG settled several of those lawsuits in 2021. The office has also worked with Apartments.com and Zillow to prevent housing discrimination on their platforms. Additionally, OAG has reached a settlement with a home repair company that illegally refused to do business in certain District neighborhoods. Learn more about the District’s civil rights protections and how OAG is working to enforce them. 

OAG has proposed legislation to clarify and make permanent its DCHRA enforcement authority, including the ability to investigate discriminatory practices, issue pre-suit subpoenas, recover significant penalties from wrongdoers, and seek restitution for victims of discrimination. OAG has the authority to bring civil suits against those who commit acts of bias-motivated violence, thanks to legislation recently enacted by the Council.

If you believe you have been a victim of discrimination, you may report it to OAG’s Civil Rights Section by:

• Submitting a civil rights tip online 
• Calling (202) 727-3400 
• E-mailing OAGCivilRights@dc.gov 
• Mailing OAG, ATTN: Civil Rights Section at 400 6th Street NW, Suite 10100, Washington, D.C. 20001 

OAG’s civil rights work complements the work of the OHR, which is the primary District agency that investigates individual discrimination complaints. You can file a complaint with OHR at ohr.dc.gov or call (202) 727-4559.