Laura Glesby Photo
Anderson Curtis of ACLU-CT: Criminal record discrimination "amounts to perpetual punishment."
Mandy Management refused to rent 58-year-old Mark Griffin an apartment because of two misdemeanor convictions from more than three decades ago.
Now Griffin and his fiancée are charging the megalandlord with racial discrimination — and hoping to end blanket bans on tenants with criminal records, which disproportionately affect Black and Brown people.
Griffin and his fiancée, Cheryl Rabe, have filed a racial discrimination complaint against Mandy Management with the state’s Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO).
On Thursday they announced the complaint at a press conference outside Mandy’s headquarters at 399 Whalley Ave., alongside two dozen housing and criminal justice reform advocates.
“We demand an end to this type of discrimination,” said Rabe. “Everyone should have access to safe housing.”
New Haven Legal Assistance Attorney Amy Eppler-Epstein, who is representing Rabe and Griffin, noted that the federal Fair Housing Act outlaws policies that seem to be neutral but have a “disparate impact” on protected classes, including racial groups.
VERA institute of Justice
Incarceration rates in Connecticut by race, as illustrated by the Vera Institute of Justice "Incarceration Trends" report.
Connecticut has long incarcerated Black residents at far higher rates than other racial demographics. Black people made up 44 percent of people incarcerated in Connecticut in 2022, but only 13 percent of the state as a whole, according to Census data compiled by the Prison Policy Initiative.
Therefore, Eppler-Epstein argued, ruling out a potential tenant due to the existence of a criminal conviction, “without regard for how long ago it was… or any mitigating circumstances — that constitutes race discrimination.”
Anderson Curtis, a senior policy organizer for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Connecticut, referenced a 2015 study indicating that 79 percent of formerly incarcerated people and their families reported being denied housing due to a criminal conviction.
“That’s also the recidivism rate” in Connecticut, he said. “I wonder why!”
Applications Denied
Mark Griffin and Cheryl Rabe: ready for a new home and an anti-discrimination fight.
Engaged after four years of dating, Griffin and Rabe were ready to move in together this spring.
Rabe had recently received a federal Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher, opening up new housing options to the pair.
The two New Haven residents searched for an apartment on Zillow. On April 4, they applied for an apartment at 45 Grace St. in Cedar Hill, owned by an affiliate of Mandy Management.
Four days later, the couple heard back via email that their application was denied.
Attached to the email was a background check, with the word “REJECT” printed in capital letters up top.
The background check flagged “limited credit experience” as well as Griffin’s two misdemeanor convictions of third-degree assault, dating back to 1989.
Rabe responded to see whether Mandy would reconsider. She noted that Griffin was arrested at the age of 24. “He is now 58 yrs old, did his time and is an outstanding citizen in the community,” she wrote.
In response, Mandy Management employee Seth Brummel replied, “Unfortunately, The landlord does not give us (the management company) any reasons why an applicant was approved or denied.” He also declined to consider the tenants for other Mandy-controlled properties.
On behalf of Mandy Management, Yudi Gurevitch wrote in a statement, “While we do not comment on potential or pending litigation, Mandy Management does not discriminate against tenants or potential tenants based on race, color, family status, disability, sex, national origin, religion, marital status, ancestry, source of income, sexual orientation, or age or any other basis prohibited by law.”
He added, “To maximize transparency and fairness in rental decisions, we apply the same screening criteria and procedures to every applicant so we can make informed decisions to protect our rental community and to promote fairness and inclusiveness.” He did not directly answer a question about how Mandy weighs prospective tenants’ criminal histories.
After the first rejection, they subsequently applied to an apartment in the Annex neighborhood owned by a company called P2P Realty.
According to the CHRO complaint, a P2P Realty representative indicated to the couple that they would automatically be rejected, since Mandy Management had denied them. P2P is also a defendant in the CHRO complaint. A representative of the company did not respond to a request for comment in time for this article.
Months later, Griffin and Rabe are still looking for an apartment that will accept their application.
Advocates: Change The Law
Amy Eppler-Epstein: Give tenants a chance to explain.
Advocates at Thursday’s press conference said they hope the CHRO complaint will eventually set a precedent for challenging blanket bans on tenants with a criminal record.
They also argued that legislation is needed to directly limit how landlords can make use of tenants’ criminal history. One bill that would have regulated criminal history considerations, H.B. 5242, failed to pass this year.
“Landlords should be restricted to looking at convictions that have to do with how you’re going to be as a tenant,” said Eppler-Epstein. And prospective tenants who get flagged for their criminal histories should have a chance to explain any mitigating circumstances, she added.
Alden Woodcock, the executive director of the local re-entry organization EMERGE Connecticut, said that he personally rented from Mandy Management starting in 2012. Back then, they did not run a background check on him — and did not rule him out as a tenant due to his own criminal history.
Curtis stressed that Griffin had already served his time: one year in prison over three decades ago.
“This amounts to perpetual punishment,” he said.