Attorney General Schwalb Announces DC Landlord Will Pay $10,000 in Penalties and Change Policies That Discriminate Against Housing Voucher Recipients

OAG Reached Settlement with Portico Investments LLC Over Discriminatory Income Requirements for Prospective Tenants Seeking to Use DC’s Rapid Re-Housing Subsidies


Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb today announced a settlement with local landlord Portico Investments LLC (Portico) for allegedly violating DC law requiring landlords to treat all tenants equally, regardless of the source of funds they use to pay their rent. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) investigated Portico for discriminating against tenants seeking to use certain types of housing subsidies—including rapid re-housing vouchers—by setting higher income requirements for these tenants than for others. Portico cooperated with OAG’s investigation and changed its discriminatory policy and practices. Under the terms of a settlement agreement, Portico will pay $10,000 in penalties to the District, provide annual fair housing training to its workers, and report its compliance to OAG for the next two years.

“It is already too hard to find an affordable place to live in DC, and no one should face discrimination when looking for a home,” said Attorney General Schwalb. “Landlords are legally required to treat all prospective tenants fairly and equally, regardless of how they intend to pay their rent. My office will continue to hold landlords accountable when they discriminate against prospective tenants based on their source of income.”

Anti-Discrimination Protections

Housing assistance programs are a critical means of ensuring affordable housing is available for those who want to live in DC, and thousands of DC residents rely on federal and local housing subsidies to help pay their rent. DC’s anti-discrimination law, the Human Rights Act (HRA), for decades has prohibited housing discrimination based on source of income, making it illegal for landlords to refuse prospective tenants, or treat tenants differently, simply because they use housing vouchers or other forms of housing assistance.

Housing Discrimination Settlement

Portico is a local real estate company that owns about 100 rental apartments across the District through a series of related companies.

In 2024, Portico posted advertisements for its rental properties that said “RRH/FRSP [Rapid Rehousing/Family Re-Housing Stabilization Program] accepted with a net income of 2x the rent amount.” OAG alleges that these ads violate the District’s prohibition on discrimination based on source of income because they treat prospective tenants who use certain types of vouchers differently than all others, who are not subject to a similar income requirement. Under District law, landlords must accept all forms of housing subsidies and may not post advertisements indicating a preference based on a tenant’s source of income or set different rules for tenants based on whether they use housing subsidies.

Portico cooperated with OAG’s investigation, changed its policies on rental income requirements, and ceased its discriminatory advertising.

Now, under the terms of a settlement, Portico will also:

  • Pay $10,000 in penalties to the District.
     
  • Conduct annual fair housing training. Portico will provide annual fair housing training, including training regarding DC’s anti-discrimination protections for tenants, for all of its employees, management, and independent contractors in DC.
     
  • Provide annual compliance reports to OAG. For two years, Portico must provide annual reports to the District documenting compliance with training requirements. Portico must also provide yearly statements identifying any complaints of discrimination made against them and how the complaints were remedied. 

The settlement is available here.

This matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Andrew Mendrala and Civil Rights & Elder Justice Section Chief Alicia M. Lendon.
 

Report Housing Discrimination

District residents who believe that they have experienced housing discrimination, or any other form of discrimination, may report it to OAG’s Civil Rights & Elder Justice 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, Washington, D.C. 20001

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