HUD charges Burlingame landlord with discrimination, harassment of couple with young children
BURLINGAME -- The federal government is charging a Burlingame landlord with discrimination against a couple with minor children after allegedly harassing the family constantly to insist they move out of their apartment to a larger unit under threat of eviction.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the charge Tuesday against Melinda Teruel and the Melinda Bautista Teruel 1992 Revocable Trust, owners of the apartment building. Teruel is charged with violating the Fair Housing Act which prohibits discrimination against families with children under the age of 18. This includes making housing unavailable to families with children, making discriminatory statements about them, and harassing tenants because they are pregnant or have young children.
According to the complaint, the couple agreed to rent a one-bedroom apartment in 2017 and before they moved in, Teruel expressed her displeasure they were pregnant with their first child, suggesting the couple rent a larger, more expensive unit. The complaint alleges Teruel visited and called at least once a week to convince the couple to move into a larger unit, telling them she had previously evicted a family of three from a one-bedroom unit because the unit was not meant for a family of that size.
HUD said current applicable laws would allow up to five people to occupy the one-bedroom unit.
In 2019, after Teruel found out the mother was pregnant again, the harassment increased with Teruel telling them "a family of [their] size would have a lot of wear and tear on the [one-bedroom] unit" and accusing the couple of being "conniving" by keeping the first pregnancy a secret, according to the complaint. The phone calls continued up to the day that the mother gave birth and in the days following.
Read the full complaint
On multiple occasions, Teruel attempted to pressure the couple to open a day care business or seek other employment so they could afford the larger unit, the complaint alleged. At one point, Teruel asked the mother why she could not put her infant daughter in day care, and when the mother replied that she was breastfeeding, Teruel allegedly responded there was nothing wrong with formula and that she herself fed her child formula.
The harassment continued into 2020 and by June of that year, the couple sent a letter giving notice they were moving out within 30 days. Teruel kept the couple's entire security deposit and accused them of causing significant damage to the unit; however, she could not provide photos or invoices to HUD to back up her claim, while the couple was able to provide photos showing their apartment was clean and undamaged and the condition was verified by a department inspection.
The family moved to the Sacramento area, away from their relatives who lived in the neighboring city of San Mateo, leaving the family with no family nearby to help with their children. The family said because of the alleged discrimination, they suffered damages that included a lost housing opportunity, emotional distress, inconvenience, and out-of-pocket costs.
"As HUD prepares to commemorate Fair Housing Month during April 2023, this Charge of Discrimination is a reminder that the fight for fair housing must continue," said Demetria L. McCain, HUD's Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity in a prepared statement. "The Department's commitment to vigorously enforce the Fair Housing Act has real-life impact for families with children, pregnant individuals and the communities we serve."
"The Fair Housing Act protects families from discrimination because of the presence of children or because they are expecting a child," said HUD's General Counsel Damon Smith in a press statement. "This Charge should put landlords on notice that HUD takes those protections seriously."
It is not the first time Teruel has faced litigation following a dispute with a tenant. In 2018, a Peninsula resident sued Teruel, alleging she illegally threatened to report her to immigration authorities during an eviction dispute.
KPIX reached out Monday to Teruel seeking a statement or comment on the HUD charges but has not received a response.
