Discrimination on airbnb and VRBO

[Anonymous]

I agree with pps I wouldn't necessarily want to rent my home out to people with an infant. I mean it's one thing to clean YOUR baby's projectile poop off the walls it's another to clean up after someone else's kid. Not to mention spit up stains on my couch or carpet.

I'm not sure why you're being so adamant about this particular listing. Find another place and move on. You have a one month old I'm sure there are other things you can be wasting your energy on.

[Anonymous]

Just have your husband rent the property (or you use his name). Problem solved.

[Anonymous]

Use a different email address and phone number when trying to book. Why would you even ask if they have room for a pnp? You can set one of those up anywhere.

[Anonymous]

There is no way I would rent my beach rental to someone with a baby.

[Anonymous]

OP, it is reasonable for someone not to want a young child in their home. A one month old can wake up screaming multiple times a night. In most houses you can hear through the rooms and that would be a nightmare for someone sleeping. You should disclose you have a young child. You may find someone family friendly but I don't blame them. I can't imagine bring our toddler into a situation like that for both our sake and their sake. Get a hotel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, it is reasonable for someone not to want a young child in their home. A one month old can wake up screaming multiple times a night. In most houses you can hear through the rooms and that would be a nightmare for someone sleeping. You should disclose you have a young child. You may find someone family friendly but I don't blame them. I can't imagine bring our toddler into a situation like that for both our sake and their sake. Get a hotel.

This is a house rental, not a room in someone's home. So OP and her family will be the only ones there--she's not looking to rent a room out.

And while it's understandable that people may not want babies in their homes, it is nonetheless still against the law to refuse to rent to families with children unless the home is exempt from fair housing laws. There are plenty of people out there who would also prefer not to rent to black families or to men, too, but if it is a vacation rental home advertised on VRBO, that's not the owner's call to make, per federal law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, it is reasonable for someone not to want a young child in their home. A one month old can wake up screaming multiple times a night. In most houses you can hear through the rooms and that would be a nightmare for someone sleeping. You should disclose you have a young child. You may find someone family friendly but I don't blame them. I can't imagine bring our toddler into a situation like that for both our sake and their sake. Get a hotel.

This is a house rental, not a room in someone's home. So OP and her family will be the only ones there--she's not looking to rent a room out.

And while it's understandable that people may not want babies in their homes, it is nonetheless still against the law to refuse to rent to families with children unless the home is exempt from fair housing laws. There are plenty of people out there who would also prefer not to rent to black families or to men, too, but if it is a vacation rental home advertised on VRBO, that's not the owner's call to make, per federal law.

How naive are you? Even if it is against the law, the owner can always just rent to someone else (that's his call). We all know how it works...a house is for sale and the owner has the right to decide who to sell it to. This isn't the 50s, most owners are now "smart" enough to get around discrimination laws. It happens all the time. Pull your head out of the sand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, it is reasonable for someone not to want a young child in their home. A one month old can wake up screaming multiple times a night. In most houses you can hear through the rooms and that would be a nightmare for someone sleeping. You should disclose you have a young child. You may find someone family friendly but I don't blame them. I can't imagine bring our toddler into a situation like that for both our sake and their sake. Get a hotel.

This is a house rental, not a room in someone's home. So OP and her family will be the only ones there--she's not looking to rent a room out.

And while it's understandable that people may not want babies in their homes, it is nonetheless still against the law to refuse to rent to families with children unless the home is exempt from fair housing laws. There are plenty of people out there who would also prefer not to rent to black families or to men, too, but if it is a vacation rental home advertised on VRBO, that's not the owner's call to make, per federal law.

How naive are you? Even if it is against the law, the owner can always just rent to someone else (that's his call). We all know how it works...a house is for sale and the owner has the right to decide who to sell it to. This isn't the 50s, most owners are now "smart" enough to get around discrimination laws. It happens all the time. Pull your head out of the sand.

Well, this owner apparently wasn't, given that he/she added the statement to the listing requesting only quiet children after OP emailed. Not worth OP's time to worry about, but that could almost certainly be successfully challenged if someone were so inclined.

Yes, obviously people violate this law all the time and are rarely sued given that it's difficult to prove patterns of discrimination, even with actual long-term rental housing where it's a much bigger problem. But that doesn't change the fact that it is illegal discrimination, which was the question asked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, it is reasonable for someone not to want a young child in their home. A one month old can wake up screaming multiple times a night. In most houses you can hear through the rooms and that would be a nightmare for someone sleeping. You should disclose you have a young child. You may find someone family friendly but I don't blame them. I can't imagine bring our toddler into a situation like that for both our sake and their sake. Get a hotel.

This is a house rental, not a room in someone's home. So OP and her family will be the only ones there--she's not looking to rent a room out.

And while it's understandable that people may not want babies in their homes, it is nonetheless still against the law to refuse to rent to families with children unless the home is exempt from fair housing laws. There are plenty of people out there who would also prefer not to rent to black families or to men, too, but if it is a vacation rental home advertised on VRBO, that's not the owner's call to make, per federal law.

How naive are you? Even if it is against the law, the owner can always just rent to someone else (that's his call). We all know how it works...a house is for sale and the owner has the right to decide who to sell it to. This isn't the 50s, most owners are now "smart" enough to get around discrimination laws. It happens all the time. Pull your head out of the sand.

Well, this owner apparently wasn't, given that he/she added the statement to the listing requesting only quiet children after OP emailed. Not worth OP's time to worry about, but that could almost certainly be successfully challenged if someone were so inclined.

Yes, obviously people violate this law all the time and are rarely sued given that it's difficult to prove patterns of discrimination, even with actual long-term rental housing where it's a much bigger problem. But that doesn't change the fact that it is illegal discrimination, which was the question asked.

NP here. Then make a stink about it through the proper government channels through a compliance complaint but still find another place to stay. You don't want to stay in this house, as lovely as I''m sure it is.

[Anonymous]

I don't think OP is the one proposing all the workarounds to get this particular place (in fact, I don't think she has posted since the beginning!) It's not worth her time to worry about, but the easy solution for the next place is just not to mention the baby. Give the information needed and leave it at that.

With a mobile baby/toddler, I do find it helpful to look for places that either advertise as being kid-friendly or have reviews that indicate that they are. The legality is neither here nor there; we have much more fun staying in rentals that are designed for kids, which often includes having Pack n Plays available, having toys, being relatively childproof, etc. There are lots of these in most popular family vacation areas that we've visited, since many times it's families renting them out when they're not staying in them.

[Anonymous]

I don't understand why he wouldn't rent to you. You have a newborn. Your baby is going to be getting into things. You don't need to have anything baby proofed. You're renting a house not a room or condo. My newborn never got poop or spit up on the ceiling and walls. Does the owner think you are bringing a toddler? Also, how is the owner going to know which kid is quiet and well behaved? Won't all parents say their kid is?

[Anonymous]

I was trying to rent a place in Pennsylvania and encountered an owner who wouldn't rent to my partner and I since we are not married. We are a man and woman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a problem for us as a family that sometimes likes to stay at B&Bs. You patronize the places that welcome children and avoid the other places until you are traveling as a childless couple again in 18 years.
I know people like to "get away" but it seems like a stupid decision business-wise. Eg: In Rehoboth Beach Del. It's almost impossible to find a kid-friendly B&B besides At Melissa's. And once people find out about one they book up fast.

I think the kid-free places are a fantastic business decision. When DH and I take a vacation together without the kids we don't want to be dealing with anyone else's kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why he wouldn't rent to you. You have a newborn. Your baby is going to be getting into things. You don't need to have anything baby proofed. You're renting a house not a room or condo. My newborn never got poop or spit up on the ceiling and walls. Does the owner think you are bringing a toddler? Also, how is the owner going to know which kid is quiet and well behaved? Won't all parents say their kid is?

Dirty diapers being left.
Spit up on walls
Maybe it's a town home or condo, and they don't want a screaming baby keeping others up .
Lots of reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why he wouldn't rent to you. You have a newborn. Your baby is going to be getting into things. You don't need to have anything baby proofed. You're renting a house not a room or condo. My newborn never got poop or spit up on the ceiling and walls. Does the owner think you are bringing a toddler? Also, how is the owner going to know which kid is quiet and well behaved? Won't all parents say their kid is?

Dirty diapers being left.
Spit up on walls
Maybe it's a town home or condo, and they don't want a screaming baby keeping others up .
Lots of reasons.

Yes, all of those reasons + the OP never stated that she told the landlord how old the baby is--she only said that she asked about room for a pack and play, and that revealed that she had a baby. Some kids will sleep in pack and plays on vacation until they are 2 or 3 years old. The landlord probably had no idea how old the baby was.