Several Boston-area housing providers have agreed to pay $12,500 to settle claims of lead paint law violations, according to the Attorney General’s office.

"Massachusetts law protects families from discrimination and ensures their right to live in residential units free of lead hazards," Attorney General Martha Coakley said in a statement. "Real estate professionals and landlords must understand that it is illegal to refuse to rent to a family because they have children or to fail to comply with all requirements of the lead paint laws."

The case was the result of an investigation by the Suffolk University Law School Housing Discrimination Testing Program. Investigators responded to several Craigslist apartment ads posted by William L’Heureux, an agent of Capitol Realty Group of Boston and JP&B Realty of Belmont, and found that families with young children were being barred from renting units due to the presence of lead paint, a violation of the state’s lead paint law.

According to one test, L’Heureux refused to show a rental unit to a fair housing "tester" who stated that he had a child under six years of age, while on the same day agreeing to show the same property to another tester that had children. Capitol Realty Group manages approximately 50 properties in the Boston area, while JP&B Realty owns 12 properties, containing 21 rental units in Watertown. The defendants also allegedly failed to provide adequate notice of lead paint hazards to tenants who rented the units, according to the attorney general’s office. 

Under the terms of the settlement, L’Heureux and certain employees of Capitol and JP&B must attend training on fair housing laws. In addition, they are required to issue updated anti-discrimination policies, provide lead inspection reports to all current tenants residing in JP&B-owned properties, and allow the Suffolk University Law School Housing Discrimination Testing Program to perform fair housing tests in the future.