Federal housing officials announced Wednesday they have charged a group of Lakewood landlords with relegating families with children to apartments in the rear of a complex.
Property owners Roger Loecher and Eileen Loecher and manager Miriam Yehudah are charged in the case filed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Elena Gaona, a HUD spokeswoman, identified the 28-unit Westland Apartment Complex at 9905 W. 21st Ave. as the center of the complaints. Officials say the suspected discrimination came after fair housing tests conducted by the nonprofit Denver Metro Fair Housing Center.
“The charge alleges that the fair housing testing revealed an ongoing practice of illegally steering families with children to apartment units in the rear building of the complex, while renters without children were offered units in the front building,” HUD said in a news release.
“I try to keep my kids in back and my adults in the front,” Yehudah allegedly told one undercover tester during a visit, according to court records.
Roger Loecher told The Denver Post on Wednesday he feels the charges aren’t fair and represent a misunderstanding on the part of the government. He says the standards he put in place are for safety and family comfort and have nothing to do with discrimination.
“It isn’t what they say it is,” he said. “We’ve always allowed kids in the front building.”
Loecher said he is trying to work out the complaint through mediation.
“We just felt, in the safety of the kids, that makes the most sense,” Loecher said of the complex’s standards. “I’m discouraged. I’m 74 years old and I’ve never felt this bad in my life about something. I’m sad that they’re calling me prejudiced. I don’t believe that.”
Court records show HUD is seeking a $16,000 civil penalty against each landlord.
