A lawsuit that accused one of Northeast Florida’s largest landlords of using faulty algorithms in its rental applications has been settled.
JWB Property Management was accused of rejecting all rental applicants if an applicant had an eviction notice filed against them, regardless of the outcome of their eviction hearings.
Jacksonville Area Legal Aid filed the lawsuit last year, presenting a novel legal argument grounded in the 1968 Fair Housing Act.
Four Jacksonville plaintiffs argued JWB slanted the housing market against Black people through its use of “tenant screening services,” a type of background-checking software used by landlords across the country to decide whether to accept aspiring tenants.
JWB repeatedly denied racial discrimination against applicants and no finding of race discrimination against JWB was made in the case.
As a term of the settlement, the company voluntarily agreed to alter its application process. The company will also clarify information provided on its websites that tenants with eviction filings can apply for tenancy with JWB and all applicants will be assessed on a case-by-case, individualized basis.
“As a Jacksonville-based real estate company, JWB serves thousands of tenants and our team works hard to understand each tenant’s unique situation,” Alex Sifakis, JWB founder said in an emailed statement. “JWB continues to be a leading provider of affordable housing options across Northeast Florida, and we are thankful for the opportunity to move forward positively to continue to serve our community.”
Suzanne Garrow, the Jacksonville Area Legal Aid lawyer who represented the plaintiffs, said the organization commends JWB’s “willingness to set forth that tenants with eviction filings are not automatically denied housing opportunities with JWB based on those filings alone.”
“The focus of any assessment of tenant worthiness when reviewing an application for tenancy should be on the current ability of the applicant to pay rent and adhere to the terms and obligations of the lease,” she told The Tributary.
John Burr is a freelance reporter for The Tributary.
Disclosure: Alex Sifakis is a financial supporter of The Tributary, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from readers, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in editorial decisions at the Tributary. Find a complete list of supporters here. Find our editorial policies here.
