Bill seeks increased penalties for brokers who violate anti-discrimination laws

By Nicole Abrams

State Sen. Adam Gomez aims to exact stricter penalties on real estate professionals who engage in illegal discrimination and create measures to prevent discrimination.

The Springfield senator made the case for his bill, An Act to end housing discrimination in the Commonwealth, before the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure last week.

This bill would require the Board of Registration for Real Estate Brokers and Salesmen to publish a summary of complaints against real estate professionals, add an expert in fair housing and civil rights, or someone who has received a housing voucher, to the board, suspend the license of a broker or salesman for 180 days for a repeat violation (it is currently for 90 days), and require applicants for a license to take courses on fair housing law.

During his testimony, Gómez cited a study that was published by the Suffolk University Law School’s Housing Discrimination Testing Program (now part of Suffolk University’s Center for Housing Justice and Policy) in July of 2020 titled “Qualified Renters Need Not Apply.” 

The study revealed that discrimination against individuals with housing vouchers occurred 86% of the time and discrimination against Black renters occurred 71% of the time.

“These are not just statistics, they reflect systematic injustice and structural racism at work in one of our most basic human rights: the right to a safe and secure home,” said Gómez in his testimony.

Gómez explained that despite the fact that racial discrimination and discrimination against voucher-holders are illegal under Massachusetts law, this study shows that rampant housing discrimination continues to be an issue.

He pointed out that the Attorney General’s office and the Board of Registration for Real Estate Brokers and Salesmen have the authority to punish brokers for discriminatory actions.

“But in practice there is a disconnect. These two authorities don’t coordinate a way that brings meaningful consequence to those who break the law,” said Gómez.

He said that the bill would require the Attorney General’s office to notify the board about a broker engaged in illegal discrimination and would require them to suspend their license.

“This isn't about punishing the entire real estate profession at all, I just want to be clear,” said Gómez in an interview, “but it’s also about targeting the worst actors and deterring repeat violations. It's also restoring the integrity back to fair housing laws.”

Kelly Vieira, an attorney and Director of Investigations and Outreach at the Center for Housing Justice and Policy at Suffolk University, also testified at the hearing, saying that their “Qualified Renters Need Not Apply” study showed that the majority of testers were interacting with real estate professionals or brokers and it was unlikely that they would communicate with landlords.

Vieira said in an interview that they found that real estate professionals were the ones who were most likely to discriminate against renters.

“There are some bad actors when it comes to the real estate industry,” said Vieira. “There are real estate professionals that we found to be discriminating, and we want to make sure that those people are held accountable because they are licensed professionals that, of course, need to follow fair housing laws like anyone else.”

Vieira also said that it is rare for a real estate professional to lose their license, even if they are being discriminatory, and the bill aims to make that process more efficient.

Vieira hopes that this bill will be able to teach people that their illegal discriminatory actions have real consequences.

“My hope is that more real estate professionals than not will realize that they have great power and great responsibility to help people of all types have access to housing in a fair and equal way,” said Vieira.

Gómez said during his testimony that this bill is personal to him as a legislator of color.

“I cannot stand idly while Black families, voucher holders, and other marginalized residents are quietly excluded from opportunities,” said Gómez.