A disabled Army veteran and mother of two is suing her landlord for housing discrimination, arguing the company made several illegal moves that forced her to move to Ohio to stay with her brother.
Tiera McLeish kicked out her husband, lost her job and had an expensive car repair around the same time this year, according to HOME of Virginia, an advocacy group representing McLeish.
With limited income, McLeish fell a month behind on rent at The Commonwealth at York.
She sought help from the nonprofit Disabled American Veterans and Virginia’s Department of Veterans Services. Both offered to cover some or all of her month’s rent, but the lawsuit alleges that landlord Moyork LLC refused.
“It didn’t matter to them at all,” McLeish said in a statement.
Instead, the company filed to evict her and her kids.
HOME of Virginia attorney Mike Pruitt argues that refusing to accept the back-rent checks violates Virginia’s Fair Housing law. The law was updated in 2020 to include what are known as “source of income” protections, which say landlords can’t discriminate based on where the rent money comes from.
“The truth is it’s still one of the most common forms of complaints we get,” Pruitt said.
HOME of Virginia also said McLeish was in a situation where she feared for her safety. Pruitt noted state and federal laws include protections for tenants potentially facing domestic violence.
“This is a clear and simple injustice—a violation of state and federal statutes prohibiting several forms of housing discrimination.”
After the eviction order was filed, but before it was executed, McLeish took her kids to Ohio to stay with her brother. Moyork LLC then filed to recoup $17,000 for the remainder of her lease, another move Pruitt argues is illegal under consumer protection laws.
McLeish’s suit contests that debt and seeks $25,000 in damages because of the eviction filing and relocation of her and her family.
“She had to take her kids out of school, move them from their home … not only do you lose your job, not only do you have issues getting a new job because of this car problem, your landlord violates the law and you have to uproot and start from scratch, that has real value,” Pruitt said.
Requests for comment from Moyork LLC were not returned by press time.
