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Dextrous456 t1_it29aij wrote

Reply to comment by sibly in Proposal would ban more than 3 college students from living together in Providence by GhostOpera406

The RI Supreme Court found in a prior case that students are not considered a protected class under the fair housing act. This link says something different, so I may be misremembering.

https://www.courts.ri.gov/Courts/SupremeCourt/SupremeOpinions/18-114.pdf

https://council.providenceri.gov/2020/05/27/ri-state-supreme-court-upholds-majority-leader-ryans-student-housing-ordinance-to-limit/

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dishwashersafe t1_it5hhn5 wrote

Thanks for the links. That was a good read. Obligatory "I'm no lawyer, but" even without being a suspect class (and I'm not convinced they aren't), it can still be discrimination. The main argument as far as I can tell is that concerns about maintaining the character of the neighborhood are legitimate. Now replace "college student" with [racial minority of your choice] and suddenly those arguments don't seem okay.

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Dextrous456 t1_it6xviw wrote

I get what you're saying. It can be discrimination in a practical sense, but not in a legal sense, since - so far - they've only defined certain protected classes. Those are drilled into everyone who takes a real estate class. The closest thing to "student" is "familial status."

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dishwashersafe t1_it7aseg wrote

Makes sense! What about occupation or age? Those seems like closer parallels. Are they not protected in a legal sense? Can a neighborhood legally decide "we're a 55+ community now" and everyone younger isn't allowed to renew their lease? Can a neighborhood legally say no factory workers are allowed anymore because they're ruining the character of the white collar neighborhood? Maybe the answer is "yes", but I feel like it shouldn't be!

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Dextrous456 t1_it982un wrote

Age is definitely a protected category. I don't know how 55+ communities get away with it, tbh.

There are also different rules depending on whether you are a landlord-owner-resident or a landlord who doesn't live in the building. Most building over 3 units have stricter requirements, too.

Here's some detail.

The employment* and public accommodations statutes prohibit discrimination based on race, color, sex (including pregnancy and sexual harassment), disability, ancestral origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression and age. The credit statute, in addition to prohibiting discrimination on these bases, also prohibits discrimination based on marital status, familial status, military status, and association with members of a protected class. The housing statute covers all of the previously mentioned areas in addition to status as a victim of domestic abuse, housing status, and lawful source of income.

http://www.richr.ri.gov/about/index.php

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