Not renting to lawyers

Professor Bainbridge has some thoughts on a policy apparently pursued by some landlords (at least when the law permits them to do so) (May 15).

Professor Bainbridge has some thoughts on a policy apparently pursued by some landlords (at least when the law permits them to do so) (May 15).

5 Comments

  • Wow. Lawyers really are hated, aren’t they? I wonder if the same prejudice applies to district attorneys or transactional attorneys.

  • I wouldn’t assume that these policies necessarily signify that lawyers are “hated”. Lawyers may simply be perceived as more likely to take an adversarial stance when frictions come up in the landlord-tenant relationship, or more skilled at using legal process in a way damaging to the landlord’s interests when a dispute does arise. This practical set of expectations may be enough to explain such a policy without positing any special or further animus toward lawyers as a class — indeed, the landlord who chooses among tenants on this basis might well be a lawyer himself or herself.

  • OR…

    it could be because of the well-deserved reputation of abusing the legal system for frivolous or malicious means.

    I’ve yet to encounter a lawyer in a professional setting who didn’t fit this description, or made reference to it on several occasions.

  • Re post #2:

    No, believe me, lawyers are hated.

  • Walter is pointing out the existence of a new type of discrimination.

    A statute may remedy that wrong, the Americans with Too Much Abilities Act.