ATLANTA — Two corporate landlords with portfolios of Georgia rental homes are accused of violating fair housing laws through a “blanket ban” on people with criminal histories, according to an Indiana-based housing group.

Federal class action lawsuits filed Wednesday against Progress Residential and Tricon Residential allege the companies use third-party screening companies that automatically deny housing to people with criminal histories, even when there are inaccuracies or errors in their reports.

The lawsuits argue the practice violates state and federal housing laws and discriminates against Black people who, even when they qualify for homes with their income, are more likely to have criminal records or face eviction.

Additionally, Tricon disqualifies people based on any eviction filings in the last two years, according to the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana.

Both companies own properties in Georgia. Progress Residential, one of the largest owners of single-family homes in the country, owns 90,000 homes nationwide, including about 15,000 in Georgia, according to the complaint.

Tricon said the claims are “baseless,” while Progress Residential said it could not comment on pending litigation but was reviewing the claims.

Indianapolis resident Marckus Williams is named in each complaint. He said he applied to a Progress Residential property in 2022 but was denied, even though he had met the company’s criteria for credit, income, and rental history.

Progress Residential denied his application based on his consumer report, which showed three previous felony convictions for possession of drugs. One was not a conviction but a record of his participation in a court-ordered program. According to Williams, the felony convictions from 2012 and 2006 had been expunged.

The housing group argues that Progress Residential’s screening has a “clear disparate impact on the basis of race” and therefore violates fair housing laws.

“Black individuals are far more likely than white individuals to have a criminal record. As a result, Progress’s blanket ban operates to disqualify otherwise qualified Black individuals from living in its properties at disproportionate rates,” the lawsuit states.

Tricon Residential said in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the company complies with fair housing laws.

“We review resident applications fairly, ethically, and objectively, employing a ‘blind’ screening process not dissimilar from procedures used to review applicants for mortgages, apartment rentals, car leases, and credit cards,” spokeswoman Tara Tucker said.

Progress Residential spokesman Nick Rust told the AJC: “As a leading professional property manager, we are committed to promoting a fair and equitable screening process for all applicants.”

The housing group’s attorney, Lila R. Miller of the Washington, D.C.-based law firm Relman Colfax, said there is a simple fix.

“Just do an individualized review of applicants. We’re not saying that a landlord can never consider justice involvement, but this automatic rejection at the front end causes a disproportionate exclusionary impact on people based on race,” Miller said in an interview.

Since its founding in 2014, Progress has acquired 2,000 houses a month, according to the lawsuit.

It is backed by New York-based investment company Pretium Partners. Earlier this year, research suggested that Pretium Partners was among three companies, including Invitation Homes and Amherst, that have a stake in almost 11% of single-family rental homes in five metro Atlanta counties.

The lawsuit against Progress Residential was filed in federal court in Indiana, while the complaint against Tricon Residential was filed in federal court in California.

©2024 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.