Striking a Compromise: Limiting the Exclusionary Impact of Age Discrimination in Housing

Abstract

Age discrimination in housing can be both positive and negative. In its benevolent manifestation, age discrimination in housing occurs in favor of the elderly. It permits retired people to choose the kind of the communities in which they will live and the people with whom they will associate. It also allows local governments to provide for the special needs of a vulnerable sector of society. But age discrimination in housing can be directed against children, another vulnerable sector of society. By extension, this is discrimination against families, based solely on their status as families.