Mass. AG obtains judgment in discrimination case

The office of Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said today it has obtained a consent judgment that resolves discrimination claims against Oxford Street Realty Inc. of Cambridge.

The company allegedly discriminated against a disabled Cambridge resident by refusing to rent her an apartment because it did not want to accept the lease requirements of a state-assisted housing program, Coakley's office said.

The consent judgment entered in Middlesex Superior Court permanently prohibits Oxford and its president, Jeffrey Indeck, from discriminating against tenants who have federal or state housing subsidies and requires defendants to pay the tenant $35,000 in damages, Coakley's office said.

According to a complaint filed in Middlesex Superior Court in 2003, the prospective tenant was disabled after an automobile accident and had been issued a temporary housing subsidy under the state’s Alternative Housing Voucher Program, or AHVP, Coakley's office said.

Because it is transitional, the program requires all tenant leases to permit a tenant to terminate an AHVP lease early if the tenant finds permanent housing, but the complaint alleged that Oxford, which was the building manager and responsible for selecting tenants, ultimately refused to sign the lease because it did not want to comply with the early termination provision in the voucher’s lease form, Coakley's office said.

Under the Massachusetts Antidiscrimination Act, it is illegal to discriminate against a tenant who receives a federal, state, or local housing subsidy or rental assistance, Coakley's office noted.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)