why a renter got turned down in Venice (Sarasota: hotel, lawyer)

[imagardener]

I thought this was interesting.
An acquaintance arrived in Venice from up north with a rental agreed on in advance and at the 1st meeting the landlord (pre-moving-in) asked where she was from. She replied NY state and he then asked if she was a Yankee fan. She replied she was. He then told her he would not rent to her.

BTW she is a very pleasant, attractive person, Caucasian (before anyone asks) and no pets, kids or anything else to cause landlord anxiety.

I asked her why the landlord cared about that and she said he lived in the same community and maybe that had some bearing. Long story short she found another rental. Just found this interesting. Rentals in Venice must be in high demand or this landlord has strong team spirit or both.

[JERSEY MAN]

There's the answer. I see it in post after post. Some people are still fighting the civil war. Are there jerks from the northeast, sure. Are there jerks from florida, sure. Can't we all get along, obviously NO. Friend made the right move, if someone doesn't like you take your money elsewhere. Simple solution.

[Shabotnik]

Yankee fans are apparently not a protected class.

[imagardener]

Originally Posted by Shabotnik

Yankee fans are apparently not a protected class.

Haha that is exactly what I told her.

[bbronston]

Landlord was probably a Bosox fan....

[Florida or Bust....]

Damn Yankees!

[03bluecoupe]

Amen

Originally Posted by jersey man

there's the answer. I see it in post after post. Some people are still fighting the civil war. Are there jerks from the northeast, sure. Are there jerks from florida, sure. Can't we all get along, obviously no. Friend made the right move, if someone doesn't like you take your money elsewhere. Simple solution.

[Shabotnik]

Originally Posted by JERSEY MAN

There's the answer. I see it in post after post. Some people are still fighting the civil war. Are there jerks from the northeast, sure. Are there jerks from florida, sure. Can't we all get along, obviously NO. Friend made the right move, if someone doesn't like you take your money elsewhere. Simple solution.

Sorry, that's not what civil rights are about. If I show up at your hotel late at night, I'm not going to hear how you won't rent me a room because I'm gay, black, in a wheelchair, or all three. You're going to take my money whether you like it or not or my lawyer is going to be taking yours.

[imagardener]

Originally Posted by Shabotnik

Sorry, that's not what civil rights are about. If I show up at your hotel late at night, I'm not going to hear how you won't rent me a room because I'm gay, black, in a wheelchair, or all three. You're going to take my money whether you like it or not or my lawyer is going to be taking yours.

I'm not sure I understand your response to what Jerseyman said.

However it made me remember the movie "Gentlemen's Agreement" with Gregory Peck posing as a Jew and discovering how unspoken prejudice was rampant at that time and a hotelier just told him they "don't have any rooms" after he made it clear he was Jewish (he made the reservation on the telephone and then showed up in person). Great, great movie.

People rarely come right out and make their prejudices clear and for good reasons like they'll be sued (or assaulted physically or verbally). The story I related was a rare instance of the landlord stating his clear prejudice. Was he telling the truth and was that the real reason? We will never know, just that on the face of it he didn't have any other reason to decline her as a tenant. Maybe he got a higher rent offer and had to make up a reason to decline her.

[sware2cod]

Originally Posted by Shabotnik

Sorry, that's not what civil rights are about. If I show up at your hotel late at night, I'm not going to hear how you won't rent me a room because I'm gay, black, in a wheelchair, or all three. You're going to take my money whether you like it or not or my lawyer is going to be taking yours.

At this point in time, sexual orientation is not a protected class for rentals in Sarasota county. This means, legally, a landlord can turn you down if you are gay. If you choose to sue, you would lose. This doesn't mean I agree with the law, but this is the law at the current time.

Also, in the case of the above renter being turned down. We don't know the real reason. Maybe the landlord thought the lady smelled like cigarette smoke and he didn't want a smoker in the rental, so he turned her town. Maybe she drove a car that was filthy and he assumed she would do the same to the rental. I knew a landlord that did this - he would turn down renters with messy dirty cars. Maybe he was a Mets fan and didn't want to rent to a Yankees fan. Maybe the prospective renter said something else in the conversation and he decided against renting to her because of that.

So we really have no idea why the landlord turned down the prospective tenant. I don't think it has anything to do with 'still fighting the civil war'. After all, the vast majority of people in this area of FL are from the NW or Midwest anyway.