Landlord to Get Schooled on Bias -- and Pay $1,000

You renters -- and landlords out there -- might be unaware of this technicality, but advertising an apartment that's "perfect for students" or using other preferential language is against the law.

In a recent case out of Buffalo, N.Y., a landlord who described an available rental on Craigslist as in a "nice Irish neighborhood" was eventually hit with a discrimination complaint. And it's going to cost him $1,000, as well as some time learning about how not to make that mistake again.

Under federal and state fair-housing laws, the use of preferential or discriminatory language is illegal. Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME), a non-profit, civil rights organization in Buffalo, filed the federal complaint against property owner Abdul Aljamali. HOME represents victims with discriminatory claims and monitors local housing advertisements for acts of wrongdoing.

But this landlord was wrong not just in writing that ad but also in his actions.