Ludlow mobile home park residents sue owner in 2 cases of housing discrimination
Now, Ortiz is suing Thomas Lennon, alleging that he discriminated against him for using public assistance toward his rental payment, according to the complaint filed April 1.
Ortiz lives at West Street Village Mobile Home Community in Ludlow. While he owns his mobile home, he still pays rent on the lot. Over the last few months, Lennon raised the rents by 143%, jumping from $207 to $503, an increase most at the park can't afford.
Many of the residents who live there are older, earn little income and/or are disabled.
After dealing with some financial troubles near the end of February, he told Lennon in a text exchange that he'd use Way Finders' rental assistance to pay for rent, which is passed through to the agency from the state.
'I'm not accepting wayfinders (sic),' Lennon texted Ortiz, according to an exhibit in the complaint.
'Is there an assistance program you do accept?' Ortiz replied.
'No, it's a ton of paperwork a huge project for ME and I may or may not get the rent in 10 weeks,' Lennon texted back.
The complaint alleges Lennon's actions in refusing to accept any form of state rental assistance from Ortiz were 'intentional and willful' with 'reckless disregard for the civil rights of the plaintiff.' Refusing to accept rental aid is a violation of fair housing laws, the lawsuit alleges.
Ortiz is being represented by Joel Feldman, a Springfield housing attorney for Heisler, Feldman and Ordorica PC, and Destin Germany of the Central West Justice Center in Springfield.
In a statement, Ortiz said tenants like him in a mobile home park are 'vulnerable to aggressive rent hikes.'
While Massachusetts offers rental aid such as from the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition program, 'this option had been refused by our landlord,' he said in the statement.
'Actions like (the landlord's) allows individuals to unilaterally price out people they deem 'undesirables,' which would keep families like ours from ever being parts of communities like this,' he said.
Feldman is expecting Lennon's reply in court within the next couple of days, he told The Republican.
Other claims against Lennon
Ortiz is not alone in his housing discrimination claims.
In a lawsuit filed Monday, Lisa Pacheco, another West Street Village resident, alleged that when she told Lennon she could not make a monthly rent payment because of a serious health condition, Lennon again said he would not accept rental assistance from Way Finders.
Lennon reportedly told Pacheco that it would be 'too much paperwork,' according to her complaint.
When Pacheco told Lennon that she already had been approved for RAFT funding for her utility payments, and that it wouldn't be too much paperwork for Lennon, he allegedly said he was not 'willing to accept RAFT payments for rent, and that he would not go down that route.'
At least two other residents were denied use of rental assistance, according to Pacheco's complaint.
Both lawsuits say that, as a housing provider, Lennon and landlords like him must 'abide by state fair housing laws in their acceptance of state rental assistance programs.'
Lennon's attorney, Robert Kraus of Kraus and Hummel in Plymouth, could not be reached for comment.
Fighting back against rent increases
Feldman also is representing three West Street Village mobile home park residents who filed an appeal last April on the Ludlow Mobile Home Rent Control Board's decision in July 2023 to increase the rent of the lots by almost $300.
Judge Jonathan Kane, a state Housing Court judge, ordered in late March that the board's decision to increase the rent was not allowed.
His reasoning was that two of the board members, who were not present for the vote, did not certify under oath that they reviewed the record of the proceedings, which violated a state law.
Lennon, as owner, and Kraus, his attorney, are intervenors, meaning they are a third party in that case. Kraus filed a notice of appeal at the end of March, but he has not filed an official appeal in court.
The case is ongoing, Feldman explained in a phone call Tuesday.
'We are waiting for the judge to decide whether the decision should be returned to the rental control board to decide on the rent after reviewing the record,' said Feldman. 'It would be premature for them to file an appeal at this point.'
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