--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was an old tradition: landlords…" description: "\"“It was an old tradition: landlords barring children from their properties. In the competitive postwar housing market of the late 1940s, landlords regu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/matthew-desmond-1529_children_it-was-an-old-tradition-landlords-barrin_276951.jpg" --- # It was an old tradition: landlords barring children from… ![“It was an old tradition: landlords barring children from their properties. In the competitive postwar housing market of the late 1940s, landlords regularly turned away families with children and evicted tenants who got pregnant.3 This was evident in letters mothers wrote when applying for public…” quote by Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/matthew-desmond-1529_children_it-was-an-old-tradition-landlords-barrin_276951.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/matthew-desmond-1529_children_it-was-an-old-tradition-landlords-barrin_276951.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/matthew-desmond-1529_children_it-was-an-old-tradition-landlords-barrin_276951.jpg) > ““It was an old tradition: landlords barring children from their properties. In the competitive postwar housing market of the late 1940s, landlords regularly turned away families with children and evicted tenants who got pregnant.3 This was evident in letters mothers wrote when applying for public housing. “At present,” one wrote, “I am living in an unheated attic room with a one-year-old baby….Everywhere I go the landlords don’t want children. I also have a ten-year-old boy….I can’t keep him with me because the landlady objects to children. Is there any way that you can help me to get an unfurnished room, apartment, or even an old barn?…I can’t go on living like this because I am on the verge of doing something desperate.” Another mother wrote, “My children are now sick and losing weight….I have tried, begged, and pleaded for a place but \[it’s\] always ‘too late’ or ‘sorry, no children.’ ” Another wrote, “The lady where I am rooming put two of my children out about three weeks ago and don’t want me to let them come back….If I could get a garage I would take it.”4 When Congress passed the Fair Housing Act in 1968, it did not consider families with children a protected class, allowing landlords to continue openly turning them away or evicting them. Some placed costly restrictions on large families, charging “children-damage deposits” in addition to standard rental fees. One Washington, DC, development required tenants with no children to put down a $150 security deposit but charged families with children a $450 deposit plus a monthly surcharge of $50 per child.5 In 1980, HUD commissioned a nationwide study to assess the magnitude of the problem and found that only 1 in 4 rental units was available to families without restrictions.6 Eight years later, Congress finally outlawed housing discrimination against children and families, but as Pam found out, the practice remained widespread.7 Families with children were turned away in as many as 7 in 10 housing searches.8”” [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Housing discrimination against children persisted despite legal reforms, highlighting systemic bias. **In simple terms:** Children faced housing bias even after laws. Key Takeaway Advocate for inclusive housing policies. Themes housing discrimination children fairness policy history Mood concerned urgent Type advocacy historical When to use this quote - rental market analysis - legal advocacy - social services - urban development Key Concepts systemic inequality fair housing act social justice Questions to Reflect On - What barriers remain for families with children? - How can enforcement be improved? A Different Perspective Legal changes alone didn’t stop bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Housing market](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/housing-market/) [Large Families](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/large-families/) [Losing weight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/losing-weight/) [Washington dc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/washington-dc/) ## Related quotes > [When we lived in a society where we had large families that lived together, especially in agricultural societies like my grandfather and father grew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/when-we-lived-in-a-society-where-we-had-large-families-that-lived/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [Haiti is extremely stratified socially with a number of large families controlling most of the economy, and import-export.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-montas/haiti-is-extremely-stratified-socially-with-a-number-of-large/) [Michele Montas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-montas/) > [While teaching a course on global development at Uppsala University in Sweden, I realized our students didn't have a fact-based worldview. They talked about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rosling/while-teaching-a-course-on-global-development-at-uppsala-university/) [Hans Rosling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rosling/) > [There are some people who get money just because they've got large families. So if it pays to make large families and earn more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-leach/there-are-some-people-who-get-money-just-because-they-ve-got-large/) [Robin Leach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-leach/) > [“Since we humans do not want to return to the old selfish ways where we let the children of too-large families starve to death,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/since-we-humans-do-not-want-to-return-to-the-old-selfish-ways-where/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“...we are trying, in a world of increasing complexity, to create a simpler and more understandable place for ourselves. 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Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [The woman movement is one which is uniting by co-operating influences, all the antagonisms that are warring on the family state. Spiritualism, free love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-beecher/the-woman-movement-is-one-which-is-uniting-by-co-operating-influences/) [Catharine Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-beecher/) > [“Kids from small families grow about an inch taller than those from large families. This is true regardless of income and social class, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arianne-cohen/kids-from-small-families-grow-about-an-inch-taller-than-those-from/) [Arianne Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arianne-cohen/) > [Literature can be divided into two large families: the religious and the secular one. The first reveals the origin of stupidity, the second follows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-brown/literature-can-be-divided-into-two-large-families-the-religious-and/) [William C. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-brown/) > [I believe in large families: every woman should have at least three husbands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zsa-zsa-gabor/i-believe-in-large-families-every-woman-should-have-at-least-three/) [Zsa Zsa Gabor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zsa-zsa-gabor/) > [In a world often marked by selfishness, a large family is a school of solidarity and sharing; and this attitude is to the benefit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/in-a-world-often-marked-by-selfishness-a-large-family-is-a-school-of/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Very early in my childhood I associated poverty, toil, unemployment, drunkenness, cruelty, quarreling, fighting, debts, jail with large families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-sanger/very-early-in-my-childhood-i-associated-poverty-toil-unemployment/) [Margaret Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-sanger/) > [“One important thing was not to forget what he hoped to achieve in life. Another important thing was not to confuse a romantic picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/one-important-thing-was-not-to-forget-what-he-hoped-to-achieve-in/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) ## More by Matthew Desmond > [I don't think we can fix poverty without fixing housing, and I don't think we can address housing without understanding landlords.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/i-don-t-think-we-can-fix-poverty-without-fixing-housing-and-i-don-t/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [If we continue to tolerate this level of poverty in our cities, and go along with eviction as commonplace in poor neighborhoods, it's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/if-we-continue-to-tolerate-this-level-of-poverty-in-our-cities-and-go/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [You see one eviction, and you're overcome, but then there's another one and another one and another one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/you-see-one-eviction-and-you-re-overcome-but-then-there-s-another-one/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [When I talk to booksellers, they tell me how hard it is to hand-sell some of my books because I do keep popping around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/when-i-talk-to-booksellers-they-tell-me-how-hard-it-is-to-hand-sell/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [Housing being a top-order issue for cities is something that's not trivial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/housing-being-a-top-order-issue-for-cities-is-something-that-s-not/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [I think that we value fairness in this country. 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They do not wax their fire engines and cruise down the local…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/wildland-firefighters-do-not-enjoy-the-cultural-prestige-that/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) [Explore all 230 Matthew Desmond quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. 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In the competitive postwar housing market of the late 1940s, landlords regularly turned away families with children and evicted tenants who got pregnant.3 This was evident in letters mothers wrote when applying for public housing. “At present,” one wrote, “I am living in an unheated attic room with a one-year-old baby….Everywhere I go the landlords don’t want children. I also have a ten-year-old boy….I can’t keep him with me because the landlady objects to children. Is there any way that you can help me to get an unfurnished room, apartment, or even an old barn?…I can’t go on living like this because I am on the verge of doing something desperate.” Another mother wrote, “My children are now sick and losing weight….I have tried, begged, and pleaded for a place but [it’s] always ‘too late’ or ‘sorry, no children.’ ” Another wrote, “The lady where I am rooming put two of my children out about three weeks ago and don’t want me to let them come back….If I could get a garage I would take it.”4 When Congress passed the Fair Housing Act in 1968, it did not consider families with children a protected class, allowing landlords to continue openly turning them away or evicting them. Some placed costly restrictions on large families, charging “children-damage deposits” in addition to standard rental fees. One Washington, DC, development required tenants with no children to put down a $150 security deposit but charged families with children a $450 deposit plus a monthly surcharge of $50 per child.5 In 1980, HUD commissioned a nationwide study to assess the magnitude of the problem and found that only 1 in 4 rental units was available to families without restrictions.6 Eight years later, Congress finally outlawed housing discrimination against children and families, but as Pam found out, the practice remained widespread.7 Families with children were turned away in as many as 7 in 10 housing searches.8”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Matthew Desmond" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/it-was-an-old-tradition-landlords-barring-children-from-their/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Children" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/it-was-an-old-tradition-landlords-barring-children-from-their/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/matthew-desmond-1529_children_it-was-an-old-tradition-landlords-barrin_276951.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/matthew-desmond-1529_children_it-was-an-old-tradition-landlords-barrin_276951.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/matthew-desmond-1529_children_it-was-an-old-tradition-landlords-barrin_276951.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It was an old tradition: landlords barring children from their properties. 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