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75footubi t1_ja9ls2q wrote

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

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Middle-Example6618 t1_ja9ma6p wrote

If it is an owner occupied building there are no protected classes, you can just be that guy.

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trimolius t1_ja9pcn2 wrote

Is that true? That doesn’t seem like it could possibly be true.

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Middle-Example6618 t1_ja9r6pk wrote

If it's a two family, and you live in the other unit, you arent subject to the restriction of the Fair Housing Act. You can also refuse to rent to anyone with kids.

So, in essense, yes.

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username_elephant t1_jacb8d9 wrote

Of course, the same does not apply to large building's where the owner simply occupies a single unit out of many. So it's not just about owner occupancy.

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Middle-Example6618 t1_jacdfjc wrote

Of course, thats what I said. Now you explain the same thing and claim you were correcting me?

Wow, you can read! Good Show Son! GOLD STAR.

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username_elephant t1_jae6hhb wrote

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...

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stevied05 t1_ja9rejw wrote

Lawyer here. It’s somewhat true, actually. There are limitations for 4 or 2 units or less, but there are still some rights that remain as discrimination, like discriminating based on race.

Check out the chart on page 120

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trimolius t1_ja9soau wrote

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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stevied05 t1_ja9szsr wrote

It’s very, very strange. MA otherwise has among the tenant friendliest laws in the country.

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trimolius t1_ja9t93p wrote

That’s what I’ve always heard so I’m surprised this never came up in conversation!

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poillord t1_jab4xou wrote

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.

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trimolius t1_jabhvhm wrote

If you feel like elaborating I’m interested to know in what other ways it’s less tenant friendly than the rest of New England!

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GoatNumber12 t1_jadf93p wrote

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.

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poillord t1_jab4rb5 wrote

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.

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stevied05 t1_jabicd5 wrote

Are you a lawyer? Cause you’re wrong. I litigate in housing court in MA all the time and it’s super tenant friendly….

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sdzk t1_jaa5n2z wrote

4 units or less and you live there

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shapesize t1_jacjk2l wrote

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?

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IDCFFSGTFO t1_jacajtm wrote

You know we once fought a war because people really didn't want soldiers living in their houses.

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hamakabi t1_jacijpg wrote

nah, we once fought a war because Americans didn't want to pay taxes.

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charons-voyage t1_ja9rbug wrote

Is this just stuff you say since you know there are no lawyers in your building? 😂

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Rabl t1_ja9wqwj wrote

Employment isn't, but family status is. "Single occupancy only" is frequently used as an example of things that it is illegal to say in a rental ad.

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alittlebitchicago t1_jaaj0ez wrote

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.

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and_dont_blink t1_jab3x3o wrote

Judging by a couple of apartments I saw last year, we'll not only color over the walls in crayons and tear up the yard we'll do even worse.

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Chirpmunkz t1_jab5mi4 wrote

My partner and I once had a landlord ask if we were married and wouldn’t rent to unmarried couples

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cuttydiamond t1_jac5dr7 wrote

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.

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KeikoToo t1_jacccjf wrote

Sooo.... who won?

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cuttydiamond t1_jaccxjw wrote

It’s a long story but basically they had to counter sue and then did mediation. In the end they had to pay for bed bug remediation and she lost her security deposit.

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SpookZero t1_jabe4jm wrote

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.

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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.

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camlaw63 t1_jabf6u4 wrote

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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IDCFFSGTFO t1_jacawsa wrote

>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.

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dante662 t1_jace0la wrote

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.

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camlaw63 t1_jae5lq3 wrote

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.

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BsFan t1_ja9qodi wrote

Or he just has a fuck lawyers mentality, which is understandable

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SpindriftRascal t1_ja9u6j6 wrote

Remember that the next time you need one, and don’t call for the help.

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Anustart15 t1_jaabllu wrote

Based on the opinions of a few of my lawyer friends, lawyers also have a "fuck lawyers" attitude, so I don't think they would mind

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nateisic t1_jaawoe8 wrote

I think they mean that in a different way.....unless it's a divorce lawyer.

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BsFan t1_ja9ujeb wrote

I've got a great lawyer, I was more making a joke.

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SpindriftRascal t1_ja9whk8 wrote

Got it. Perhaps I was a bit defensive. I’d say it’s better than being offensive, but the jury’s out on that. Who am I to judge?

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some1saveusnow t1_jabci8y wrote

Love that this sub is ACAB but pro lawyer. It’s basically the politically liberal - socially conservative trope

0

downwardspiralstairs t1_ja9w0ov wrote

Someone got sued and lost

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TheSausageKing t1_jab4818 wrote

If a lawyer is suing you, even if you win, you lose.

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downwardspiralstairs t1_jac5rd4 wrote

Since it is a basement apartment I bet the utilities are not split and the landlord had to eat the utility bills for a lease period because someone knew the law.

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willzyx01 t1_ja9rmvr wrote

law students?

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

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InfiniteJessica t1_jaa2k3i wrote

Yeah, I graduated from law school in 2006. Didn’t pass the Massachusetts bar. Work in another field. If I didn’t already have a house, I’d be in there. 😁

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phamio23 t1_jabjdgm wrote

What field did you end up going into? Asking because I’m in the same situation as you except I don’t have a house 😬.

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InfiniteJessica t1_jac62w0 wrote

I was in sales before. So… sales! I’m looking at pivoting to non profits in my old age.

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figmaxwell t1_jaazcmt wrote

Technically isn’t everyone who hasn’t gone to law school?

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Left_Squash74 t1_jabbd0u wrote

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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wildfire_atomic t1_jaamy4w wrote

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

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ginns32 t1_jacqrp2 wrote

I work in family law. I would not know tenant rights anyways.

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Markymarcouscous t1_ja9n6ng wrote

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

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proactiveplatypus t1_ja9obz0 wrote

It’s a silly loophole, but I believe the fine print of the law is that landlords cannot charge an application fee/credit fee.

(This isn’t the actual law but: https://www.boston.gov/renting-boston)

A realtor is able to charge the fees.

Now why isn’t the $20 credit check fee folded into the broker’s fee? 🤷

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sdzk t1_jaa6bxn wrote

Because my boss (owner of brokerage)then charges me… it’s pretty stupid

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hmack1998 t1_jaba1hk wrote

They aren’t legal but also there’s no enforcement unfortunately so landlord could just say never mind if you don’t want to pay

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drtywater t1_jack2dg wrote

Yes but its easy to work around. You just refund them if it doesn't go through and if they do proceed you just deduct from first months rent.

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BostonBopper t1_jaaf9oe wrote

Guessing this is an illegal conversion?

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northeast0 t1_jaao3m9 wrote

If I can’t view it in person now, I’m going to assume it’s some combination of illegal, moldy, or not the unit in the pictures

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some1saveusnow t1_jabcd0a wrote

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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MitchReinhardt t1_jabdyxa wrote

Right again. The stereotype is law students like to use the landlord/tenant relationship as practice.

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some1saveusnow t1_jabe70d wrote

Exactly. I’ve had landlords and brokers tell me the practice thing verbatim

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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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blabla1897 t1_ja9wgx1 wrote

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

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reaper527 t1_ja9xgys wrote

> 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.

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wishforagreatmistake t1_jaabr5a wrote

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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flyingmountain t1_jacrltp wrote

The landlord cares if their tenants are lawyers because they're doing illegal shit and don't want anyone to call them on it.

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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

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1000thusername t1_jaad5lz wrote

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

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The_Big_Sad_69420 t1_jaaubmr wrote

$1500 for basement studio, fuck meee

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Coggs362 t1_jaaxknq wrote

Beacon street? Basement studio? Anybody else thinking rat infestation?

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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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popornrm t1_jabn28s wrote

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

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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

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GM_Pax t1_jaa4h79 wrote

... yeah, that's highly sus.

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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.

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some1saveusnow t1_jabcy91 wrote

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

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ginns32 t1_jacrbac wrote

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

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

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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

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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

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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PM_ME_BURNED_TOAST t1_jaab2j9 wrote

Why would that be illegal? Assuming it’s a broker renting it out. 99% of rentals require a deposit. They are choosing it to be half the fee as the deposit.

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AceHunter98 t1_jaawusc wrote

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

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popornrm t1_jabkpl0 wrote

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

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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

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.

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MuddyWaterTrees t1_jaa2obk wrote

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

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uhnonymuhs t1_jab1wfe wrote

FWIW the Copley Group has this policy as well

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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

bread_lady t1_jab9adx wrote

christ this is abominable

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HazyDavey68 t1_jab9w06 wrote

How about the sibling or child of a lawyer?

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JDSweetBeat t1_jabcrkl wrote

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

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camlaw63 t1_jabeu1x wrote

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

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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

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

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

Toddfitz t1_jab6hns wrote

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

1

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

sympathymaximum8182 t1_jac6or2 wrote

The rents made me leave 30 years ago but this is insane.

1

philhpscs t1_jacalf0 wrote

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

1

ginns32 t1_jacqw67 wrote

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

1

PentonMitch99 t1_jacsulk wrote

I’m not a genius but sounds sus

1

Jusmon1108 t1_jae7k80 wrote

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

1

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

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

ForwardBound t1_jacjsc2 wrote

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

TheAVnerd t1_jaa2vl8 wrote

Doesn’t say anything about cops!

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No_Stinking_Badges85 t1_jacl64p wrote

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

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