A Boston-area landlord has agreed to pay $23,000 in relief to two tenants, delead a Roslindale apartment unit and provide inspection reports to resolve allegations of discrimination against families with children and violations of state lead paint laws, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced Wednesday.
Dimitrios Deligiannides, Hariclia Deligiannides and Hariton Deligiannides allegedly refused to renew the leases of two tenants after learning that they were pregnant, in order to avoid their obligations under lead paint laws, according to the assurance of discontinuance, filed Tuesday in Suffolk Superior Court.
"There are important protections in place to ensure that families have access to safe living environments," Coakley said in a statement. "Landlords cannot avoid their obligations to abate lead paint hazards by evicting tenants with children."
According to the settlement, Dimitrios Deligiannides told one of his tenants that he believed there was lead paint in the unit only after she informed him that she was pregnant. He then allegedly urged her to move out of the apartment, located on Haslet Street in Roslindale. The settlement also alleges that the Deligiannideses failed to abate lead hazards promptly once both tenants gave birth and continued to reside in the units with their infants, and failed to disclose known lead hazards to all tenants in the three-unit apartment building.
Under the terms of the assurance of discontinuance, the Deligiannideses are required to provide lead inspection reports to all current and future tenants, obtain full deleading compliance for an apartment in the Haslet Street building and forgive 10 months of rent, totaling $12,000, for one of the tenants. The Deligiannideses have also agreed to pay a total of $11,000 in relief to the two affected tenants. An additional payment of $2,500 to the commonwealth is suspended pending compliance with the settlement.



