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Budge1025 t1_ja9l7rg wrote

I hope everyone looking at this listing sees this as a massive red flag...clearly the lister has had legal problems and wants tenants without that kind of knowledge base to avoid litigation.

284

75footubi t1_ja9ls2q wrote

Employment isn't a protected class for housing, but daaaammnnn 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩

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Markymarcouscous t1_ja9n6ng wrote

Aren’t credit fees and application fees also illegal in ma

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reaper527 t1_ja9ncaw wrote

sounds like an invitation to get sued trying to pick a fight with lawyers.

like, even if careers aren't protected class, they'll find something else to nitpick on as a basis to go after the lister.

at the end of the day, i don't get why the owner would even care who's renting as long as they're

  1. paying their rent on time
  2. not damaging the property
  3. not doing anything illegal that's going to cause problems for the landlord
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modernhomeowner t1_ja9o3sh wrote

I saw a post in r/solar recently, where a person was signing into a long-term solar agreement, was happy and wanted to sign the agreement, everyone cautioning not to as it was long-term and the person said they wanted it to be short term and said "I'm a lawyer, I know how to work the system to get out of it." And listed a bunch of abusive practices of filing false complaints with the BBB and Attorney General to get the company to cave. So, the poster could have some shady housing issues or had an issue with a tenant abusing the legal system to get their way.

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willzyx01 t1_ja9rmvr wrote

law students?

Joke's on them. I'm a pre-law.

190

trimolius t1_ja9soau wrote

Replying to stevied05 (#2,074,901)

Interesting. This seems incredibly random. Own a two family? Discriminate against everyone, it’s no problem. 3 decker? Nope. Also if kids bother you, feel free to discriminate, as long as you’re elderly.

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shelley1005 t1_ja9v1ab wrote

Having to pay half the broker fee is illegal. Seems they want people who don't know their rights and they can scare them to keep quiet and just accept it.

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reaper527 t1_ja9xgys wrote

Replying to blabla1897 (#2,076,380)

> I think the idea is if they are a lawyer and they don’t adhere to rules #1-3 then the ensuing litigation or whatever is going to be much more of a pain

I guess that makes sense, but what are the odds of a lawyer not following poi ts 1-3? Seems like something that would hurt their own professional reputation and career.

10

MuddyWaterTrees t1_jaa2obk wrote

Been the norm in Boston for a long time. Generally an unspoken rule. Not that I support it.

2

TheAVnerd t1_jaa2vl8 wrote

Doesn’t say anything about cops!

−2

g00ber88 t1_jaa3z7t wrote

Everything about this listing (except the listed rent price) is so awful it feels like it has to be a joke

11

GM_Pax t1_jaa4h79 wrote

... yeah, that's highly sus.

10

wishforagreatmistake t1_jaabr5a wrote

Replying to reaper527 (#2,076,687)

In theory, but in practice, the bar association PROBABLY isn't going to discipline them for being a deadbeat or a tenant from hell unless they either do something that makes the news or piss someone important off. The light most favorable to the landlord here is that they previously had a lawyer tenant who was an absolute nightmare and then did everything in their power to drag out the eviction process and fight a war of attrition.

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1000thusername t1_jaad5lz wrote

How about health inspectors? Are they allowed to apply? Or code enforcement?

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alittlebitchicago t1_jaaj0ez wrote

Replying to Rabl (#2,076,459)

Never met a landlord who actually cared. I haven’t rented in a while, so maybe they’ve gotten stricter about these things, but I remember being in college hearing that our application was denied because the property was not available to students. Super bogus, like at least we’re not going to color all over the walls with crayons and tear up the yard.

10

beeinabearcostume t1_jaaj7k3 wrote

There was an apartment in Kenmore Square I looked at about a decade ago that also had that stipulation. Red flag if you ask me

7

wildfire_atomic t1_jaamy4w wrote

“We only want tenants who don’t understand their rights as a tenant”

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BlackmesaTBX t1_jaatflm wrote

Anyone who’s seen the business end of the family or civil court system embroiled in vexatious, frivolous litigation at the hands of maniacal, misandrist, judges and lecherous lawyers knows why.

1

thedonregis t1_jaauk80 wrote

That’s a really efficient way to say “I’m going to violate all of your rights as a tenant” without actually saying it

37

theshoegazer t1_jaawf0t wrote

I came across a listing like that, and wasn't shocked until I saw where it was - right around the corner from Harvard Law. Maybe get to know the neighborhood and demographics before buying property there?

1

AceHunter98 t1_jaawusc wrote

Oof they got rid of the lawyer part and the brokers fee in the description

6

Ctmanx t1_jaayjxh wrote

We’ve rented to a couple law students and lawyers. One was a great tenant. The others were massive Karens who delighted in being as difficult as possible purely for the sake of showing you they know they have the right to be a pain in the ass. So I could imagine a landlord getting fed up with them.

But it could also be something totally different than you are all imagining. If a Judge or law professor owned an apartment they might be trying to avoid potential conflicts of interest.

10

Meatloafchallenge t1_jab0m04 wrote

I lived in a 1-bed on Kirkland st in Cambridge with a no lawyer policy. The building had a live in super who was pretty annoying. He 100% didn’t want tenants who knew their rights. He took a liking to me but if he didn’t like you it was a much different experience

7

uhnonymuhs t1_jab1wfe wrote

FWIW the Copley Group has this policy as well

2

comment_moderately t1_jab34c2 wrote

Great publicity, really appreciate the address. Please post the followup article after next week's inspection.

Anyway, they've updated the posting, it now just reads:

$1495 studio in Back Bay available 9/1/23
Basement level
Laundry off-site 13 min walk, one tandem off-street parking space is
available for $250 per month, street parking is available, pets are not
allowed, hardwood floors
Asking 12 month rental term
Single occupancy only
Video tour is available

7

poillord t1_jab4rb5 wrote

Replying to stevied05 (#2,075,365)

No it doesnt, it’s mid in terms of the bias, and much more landlord friendly than the rest of New England. That’s just something people say assuming Massachusetts’s liberal reputation without knowing how the laws vary.

−2

poillord t1_jab4xou wrote

Replying to trimolius (#2,075,446)

You heard wrong, though everyone seems to say it around here. Massachusetts is much more landlord friendly than the rest of New England, though less so than the south.

2

Toddfitz t1_jab6hns wrote

As a landlord I would rent to a lawyer…not a law student

1

Majestic_Electric t1_jab7npf wrote

I find that price tag highly suspicious. No way are you going to find a decent apartment on Beacon Street for that cheap!

Maybe that’s why they don’t want to rent to a lawyer or law student…

2

HazyDavey68 t1_jab9w06 wrote

How about the sibling or child of a lawyer?

2

Left_Squash74 t1_jabbd0u wrote

Replying to figmaxwell (#2,087,886)

I think "pre-law" exists because undergrad has become so expensive that many can only justify it if it is understood to be vocational, even though it isn't meant to be and that is the whole point of post-bachelor professional school.

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some1saveusnow t1_jabcd0a wrote

Replying to BostonBopper (#2,081,914)

Law or law aspiring professionals have on occasion had some historical tendency to get lawyerly with their tenancy if they don’t like something that’s going on. It’s easier for landlords to avoid them in general but especially if they have personal experience with it going bad

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JDSweetBeat t1_jabcrkl wrote

Landlords don't want tenants who know how to read law.

2

some1saveusnow t1_jabcy91 wrote

Replying to Ctmanx (#2,087,652)

Hopefully everyone wondering about this makes it down to this comment. This is what landlords around here are actually worried about when they’re trying to ward off law professionals as tenants

2

Detectivepopcorn99 t1_jabdsws wrote

Guess they don’t like lawyers. If I didn’t like lawyers that much, I’d rent to them exclusively, then gouge the hell out of them for everything.

1

SpookZero t1_jabe4jm wrote

Replying to 75footubi (#2,073,280)

So check this out: that’s actually not true. I had always thought it was, too. It turns out that you can’t discriminate against lawful sources of income. If people can’t prove their income (i.e. servers, bartenders) then that’s a different matter.

−2

camlaw63 t1_jabeu1x wrote

If you click on the ad now, they removed that portion

2

camlaw63 t1_jabf6u4 wrote

Replying to Budge1025 (#2,073,123)

Lawyer here, there are tenants out there, who know more about tenant landlord laws and I do. In fact, there are professional tenants who game the system to the point where they never pay rent.

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RhaenyrasUncle t1_jabhbag wrote

Y'all are looking at this wrong.

Landlord is using reverse psychology. He wants folks with money (lawyers) and folks whose parents have money (law students).

Landlord wants to be able to jack the rent without risk of losing his tenants.

−1

popornrm t1_jabkpl0 wrote

There’s a lot of people that do this because they don’t want to deal with threats of litigation.

3

popornrm t1_jabn28s wrote

Replying to modernhomeowner (#2,073,927)

MA is incredibly tenant friendly and a lot of owners don’t want to deal with threats of litigation or drawn out issues where they need to get a lawyer. MOST non corporate unit owners don’t rent to them. I wouldn’t advertise it though

8

cuttydiamond t1_jac5dr7 wrote

Replying to 75footubi (#2,073,280)

My wife’s parents own a 3 family in Southie and they had a lawyer for a tenant once. She sued them because her apartment had bed bugs. She brought the bed bugs back from a trip somewhere.

They forbade lawyers after that too.

15

philhpscs t1_jacalf0 wrote

I went to BU Law, now I wonder which one of my classmates was responsible for this.

1

IDCFFSGTFO t1_jacawsa wrote

Replying to camlaw63 (#2,092,453)

>professional tenants... never pay rent.

Squatters? My dad had a squatting situation one time in Quincy. So my dad, my uncle, my dad's army buddy and me went over there and removed him. Guy called the cops, Quincy PD told him to get fucked. I think my dad's veteran status and the fact that this dude was a visible scumbag helped a lot.

I really don't know the legality of what happened that day, all I know is we never saw that asshole again.

7

Aside_No t1_jacbkay wrote

Lmao they don't usually SAY it like that. Fwiw though tons of landlords do this just don't advertise it. You can get blacklisted with some of these companies for even showing you know your rights.

2

dante662 t1_jace0la wrote

Replying to IDCFFSGTFO (#2,100,192)

So yeah, the issue is sometimes the PD will say "it's a civil matter". All the tenant needs to do is flash a fake lease paper and scream "illegal eviction" as loud as they can...and they basically get to live for free in your home until you can get the court to order them removed.

​

And while they live there, paying no rent...you are legally required to keep the house in working order. It's fucking awful. It's at the point where if someone breaks into your home you'd be better off doing what you did than calling the police for help.

10

Pancakes000z t1_jacgjtv wrote

Probably owned by Fairfield Realty. They have tons of cheap studios in Back Bay but they’re kind of slummy and breaking the law (for example, you leave trash out in the hallways on trash day, they don’t provide bins outside). They must not want to deal with people reporting them.

3

shapesize t1_jacjk2l wrote

Replying to stevied05 (#2,074,901)

In the full text section about not renting to families, why is it illegal for them to advertise no kids or refuse to show? It seems like a waste of everyone’s time to not put that in an ad, have to show it, just to be rejected (legally) if you like it. Am I misunderstanding that?

1

ForwardBound t1_jacjsc2 wrote

Replying to RhaenyrasUncle (#2,093,031)

This is actually a great apartment for a BigLaw lawyer who moved way outside the city during the pandemic and whose firm is now requiring them to have a space near the office in order to keep them nearby on night when they have to work late, so yeah, you might be right!

0

ForwardBound t1_jack662 wrote

As a lawyer who (obviously) has had to work with other lawyers for a long time now, I'm going to say yeah, this landlord's preference is completely justified.

0

No_Stinking_Badges85 t1_jacl64p wrote

Lawyer: n. one skilled in the circumvention of the law and the abuse thereof.

−5

ginns32 t1_jacqw67 wrote

Looks like they might have removed that from the listing now.

1

ginns32 t1_jacrbac wrote

Replying to Ctmanx (#2,087,652)

I don't think this would create a conflict. We've had judges that had to recuse themselves from certain cases due to a conflict and it just gets sent to a different judge. If it was student and they were renting from a professor they could probably take a different class if it ended up being their professor. I think the chances would be small though.

1

GoatNumber12 t1_jadf93p wrote

Replying to stevied05 (#2,075,365)

Isn't this pretty standard though? That is what I learned in property when we briefly read about red lining and Shelley.

I know MA has tenant friendly laws, and compared to that its real weird. But compared to the national standard allowing that type of discrimination is par for the course.

1

BostonDogMom t1_jadrkyg wrote

What about case managers or social workers with a strong knowledge of housing law? When moving out of my last place, my landlord asked if I was a lawyer based on the email I wrote.

3

camlaw63 t1_jae5lq3 wrote

Replying to IDCFFSGTFO (#2,100,192)

No, I’m not talking about squatters I’m talking about people who seem like they’re legitimate tenants. And then they find a small defect in the apartments, they call inspectional services, they withhold rents. They make life miserable for the landlord. Think Pacific Heights, not that extreme but you get the general idea.

Once the landlord gets rid of them, they just move onto the next property.

2

username_elephant t1_jae6hhb wrote

Replying to Middle-Example6618 (#2,100,986)

Where, in the post I replied to, did you say anything about any owner occupied buildings other than 2 unit buildings? You literally only talk about exactly 2 units. I was just saying the part you left unsaid. And I certainly wasn't trying to correct you.

But thanks for taking the opportunity to be an asshole to someone. Making the internet better one comment at a time...

1

Jusmon1108 t1_jae7k80 wrote

Would it be illegal to do legal work in an illegal apartment? 🤔

1