U.S. Attorney’s Office Announces Settlement with Wrightstown, New Jersey Landlord in Fair Housing Act Lawsuit

NEWARK, N.J. - A Wrightstown, New Jersey landlord has agreed to pay $62,500 in monetary damages to resolve a lawsuit alleging race and national origin discrimination in violation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA).

The FHA prohibits discrimination in housing, including discrimination because of race and national origin. The United States' complaint, filed on November 13, 2024, alleged that the landlord, Burlington Preservation Associates, LLC (Burlington), had applied an incarceration provision in its lease agreement to discriminate against a Black and Hispanic tenant living in subsidized housing. The incarceration provision in the lease gave landlord or property manager the discretionary authority to change the locks of incarcerated tenants and then evict them. As alleged in the complaint, Burlington took almost immediate action to evict the Black and Hispanic tenant living in subsidized housing during a brief period of incarceration while treating a white, incarcerated tenant very differently. The complaint further alleged that, when the tenant filed a fair housing complaint with a federal agency, the defendant retaliated against him by attempting to evict him a second time and by disrupting the recertification process required to maintain the tenant's subsidized housing.

In addition to paying monetary damages to the tenant, Burlington has also agreed to remove the lease provision at issue in this case as part of the resolution announced today.

The case was referred to the Department of Justice after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development received a complaint, completed an investigation, and issued a charge of discrimination.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Millenky.

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