Allston real estate firm settles discrimination claim

By Jenifer B. McKim, Globe Staff

Micozzi Management Inc., an Allston real estate company, today agreed to pay $3,000 and adopt an anti-discrimination policy to resolve state allegations that one of its agents refused to rent to a couple with a young child.

The settlement comes after the state attorney general's office alleged in Suffolk Superior Court that real estate agent Lori Falzarano refused to show an apartment to a couple with a child in April 2009, but later agreed to show the unit when the couple called back without mentioning children. Officials from Micozzi Management could not be reached for comment.

Under state and federal laws, it is illegal to discriminate against renters because they have children. Since January 2007, the Attorney General's Office has obtained 84 judgments in housing discrimination cases brought against landlords, property managers and real estate companies.

"We are facing critical housing needs in the Commonwealth and the strain on families with children is particularly great,'' said Attorney General Martha Coakley. "Realtors, brokers, and landlords in Massachusetts should understand that discrimination against families with children is illegal."