A Tucson apartment complex that caters to University of Arizona students has been fined by the state for discriminating against female tenants.
Sahara Apartments, 919 N. Stone Ave., violated Arizonaβs Fair Housing Act by requiring female tenants who get pregnant to vacate the premises and pay out their leases, Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced Wednesday.
βThe conduct in this case was unacceptable and quite frankly outrageous,β Brnovich said in a news release.
The stateβs civil rights division laid a charge of housing discrimination after viewing an illegal lease clause on the apartment complexβs website, the news release said.
The offending clause read: βIf you are female and become pregnant while you are a resident of Sahara Apartments, you must vacate the apartment upon or prior to the birth of your child and pay any unpaid balance of your contract price.β
The clause violates state laws that prohibit housing discrimination based on sex, pregnancy or familial status, the attorney general said.
The case was settled through a conciliation agreement, in which Sahara Apartments agreed to a $2,000 civil penalty and to require all managers to take housing discrimination training. Current tenants will be notified to ignore the offending lease clause.
The owner of Sahara Apartments, Tirdad Bozorgmehr, did not return a message seeking comment Wednesday. Bozorgmehr, 72, also known as Ted Mehr, spent several years renovating the former Sahara Motor Inn before reopening the site as student housing in 2005.
A woman answering the phone at the apartment complex, who identified herself as the office coordinator but wouldnβt give her last name, said the buildingβs ownership was expected to change Thursday, April 18, but wouldnβt say who the new owner is.
