Indy resident, housing organization file class action lawsuit against two rental companies for discriminatory policies

An Indianapolis resident and a fair housing organization filed a class action lawsuit against two rental companies for their alleged discriminatory tenant screening policies.

Marckus Williams and the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana (FHCCI) filed two separate lawsuits against Progress Residential and Tricon Residential.

They allege the two rental companies’ denial of housing to applicants with certain criminal or eviction histories disproportionately excludes Black people and women.

"Being unfairly barred from housing not only challenges my identity; it underscores a broader societal issue of systemic bias,” Williams said in a statement.

The lawsuit against Progress Residential –  one of the nation’s largest single-family rental providers – alleges the company’s screening process rejects previously incarcerated applicants without looking into personal circumstances. It further states that it affects Black applicants disproportionately because they are historically overrepresented in the criminal justice system.

The complaint against Tricon Residential adds its eviction policy discriminates against Black female applicants because nationally, Black women face higher eviction filing rates.

“Black women are overrepresented in eviction filings by nearly 200%,” according to a press statement from FHCCI.

The average yearly eviction rate in Marion County is 10.8% the highest rate of any county in Indiana, according to the  Eviction Research Network’s data from 2016 to 2021.

Amy Nelson, with the fair housing center, said Williams ended up being homeless because he was rejected at these properties, even though his criminal record had been expunged.

“Records that were not supposed to be still showing,” she said. “He had paid his debt to society, had turned his life around, yet was still being punished because of that essentially bad data.”

Tricon Residential said in a statement that the organization “adheres to all fair housing laws and believes the allegations in this suit are baseless.”

“We review resident applications fairly, ethically, and objectively, employing a “blind” screening process not dissimilar from procedures used to review applicants for mortgages, apartment rentals, car leases, and credit cards,” the Triton statement read.

A Progress Residential spokesperson said the organization takes “these allegations seriously,” and is reviewing the lawsuit's claims.

“As a leading professional property manager, we are committed to promoting a fair and equitable screening process for all applicants,” the spokesperson said.

Progress Residential did not comment further on pending litigation.

The lawsuit also calls for a reevaluation of the rental properties' housing practices “to safeguard the rights of all rental applicants.”

Nelson said the lawsuit is essential for changes to tenant rights in the state.

“We want to work to ensure that these policies get changed so that more housing is opened up to people who absolutely have a right to it,” she said.