The Wages of Living in Sin: Discrimination in Housing against Unmarried Couples
![handle is hein.journals/davlr25 and id is 1065 raw text is: The Wages of Living in Sin:
Discrimination in Housing Against
Unmarried Couples
INTRODUCTION
Mr. French agrees to rent a house that he owns to a young woman
named Susan. Susan pays a security deposit and notifies her current land-
lord that she will be moving out. Two days later, Mr. French changes his
mind. He tells Susan that he will not rent the house to her because she
intends to live there with her fianci Wesley. Mr. French admits that he
would have rented to Susan if she and Wesley were married'
By refusing to rent his house to Susan, Mr. French has discrimi-
nated against her and Wesley because they are not married.
Despite the growing number of couples like Susan and Wesley
who choose to live together without marriage,2 discrimination
against these couples in the sale and rental of housing continues.3
Moreover, despite changes in other areas of the law related to
nonmarital cohabitation,4 the law continues to provide unmarried
couples little protection from housing discrimination.5
Federal law protects unmarried couples from housing discrimi-
I These facts derive from State.by Cooper v. French, 460 N.W.2d 2
(Minn. 1990). See also Landlord Fined $1000 For Not Renting to Unmarried
Couple, L.A. TIMES, June 17, 1989, § 2 (Metro), at 15 (Orange Co. ed.)
(newspaper account of French facts).
2 The number of unmarried couples cohabiting increased from 573,000
in 1970 to 2,764,000 in 1989. See infra notes 22-25 and accompanying text.
3 Housing discrimination takes many forms, including refusals to rent or
sell, attempted evictions, and denials of public housing benefits. See infra
notes 47-49 and accompanying text; see also infra note 78 (discussing types of
discriminatory acts prohibited by California fair housing law).
The extent of housing discrimination in general is difficult to determine
because landlords may simply claim that they have better offers or that the
dwelling already has been sold or rented to another person. Developments in
the Law--Sexual Orientation and the Law, 102 HARV. L. REV. 1508, 1612-13
n.56 (1989) [hereafter Sexual Orientation]. Nevertheless, the cases this
Comment examines demonstrate that housing discrimination against
unmarried couples does occur. See infra part II.
4 See infra notes 27-43 and accompanying text.
5 See infra part II.
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The Wages of Living in Sin: Discrimination in Housing against Unmarried Couples
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