A housing advocacy organization has sued Massachusetts health officials over the state’s lead paint law.
Rather than encouraging landlords to remove lead paint, the 1971 law incentivizes housing discrimination against families with young children, alleges Meris Bergquist, executive director of the Holyoke-based Massachusetts Fair Housing Center.
" Landlords find it irrestible to avoid renting to these famlies rather than obeying the Massachusetts lead law," said Bergquist in an interview.
Plaintiffs in the federal court lawsuit include two families who claim they faced discrimination because of the lead law.
The Department of Public Health declined comment.