FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          CR
MONDAY, APRIL 7, 1997                              (202) 616-2777
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

            JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OBTAINS TWO SETTLEMENTS
           IN SOUTH FLORIDA HOUSING DISCRIMINATION SUIT

     EIGHT SUITS NOW SETTLED UNDER NATIONWIDE TESTING PROGRAM

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The owner and managers of two South
Florida apartment complexes that allegedly refused to rent to
African Americans and families with children agreed today to pay
$125,000 under an agreement reached with the Justice Department.

     The agreement, filed today in U.S. District Court in West
Palm Beach, resolves a Justice Department housing discrimination
suit filed in 1995. The suit alleged that the owner and operators
of Boca Manor Apartments in Boca Raton and The Meadows Apartments
in Kendall engaged in a pattern of discrimination on the basis of
race and familial status.

     Since 1992, the Justice Department has brought eight housing
discrimination suits in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties. 
With today's settlement, the Department has now settled all eight
of the South Florida cases for more than $2 million in damages,
civil penalties and other monetary relief.

     "Today's agreement demonstrates the Justice Department's
commitment to eliminating barriers that some Americans face when
simply trying to find a place to call home," said Isabelle Katz
Pinzler, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. "We
will continue to root out unlawful discrimination in the housing
market."

     Each of the eight South Florida housing discrimination cases
stem from the Justice Department's nationwide testing program. 
Under the program trained pairs of African American and white
persons pose as prospective tenants inquired about available
rental units.  By comparing the experiences of the testers,
investigators determine whether minorities and families with
children are treated the same as whites and families without
children. 
     
     Nationwide, the Justice Department's testing program has
resulted in 36 housing discrimination cases and a total of $4.5
million in monetary relief.

      According to the Department's suit, the resident managers
of the two complexes indicated to black testers that there were
no apartments available for rent while at the same time telling
white testers that there were.  The manager also showed vacant
apartments to white but not black testers, and informed testers
of a policy of refusing to rent to families with children.

     Under the settlement the defendants will:

     *    stop discriminating against African-Americans and
          families with children;

     *    provide training to their rental agents to prevent any
          further discriminatory practices; 

     *    pay $75,000 to compensate victims of their
          discriminatory practices; and,

     *     pay a $50,000 civil penalty (fine).

     "For those who persist in victimizing others on the basis of
race, the message is clear: get your checkbook ready," said
William  A. Keefer, U.S. Attorney in Miami.  "These settlements
should warn apartment owners and operators who discriminate in
South Florida that the Justice Department is committed to
enforcing fair housing laws." 

     Today's settlement must still be approved by the court. 
 
     Individuals who believe they may have been the victims of
housing discrimination at any of the complexes named should call
the Housing Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice
Department at 1-800-896-7743.
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