D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine has filed three lawsuits against seven real estate companies and professionals who he says have discriminated against D.C. residents.

Racine’s office released details Wednesday of the legal actions that were filed over the past six weeks. They name six D.C.-licensed entities and professionals and one Maryland-registered company, and include allegations of discrimination based on race, disability and source of income. Two of the properties are in Ward 8 and the other is in Ward 4.

The move is an effort to enforce the D.C. Human Rights Act, and two of the suits followed referrals from the D.C. Office of Human Rights. The act bars discrimination against those who live in, work in or visit D.C. on the basis of 21 traits. The traits that apply to housing include race, disability, sexual orientation, and source of income — where someone gets their money to pay rent.

“I’m very confident that the lawsuits… are having an impact on making housing more fair and less discriminatory in the District of Columbia,” Racine said in a phone interview with WAMU/DCist.

In one of the lawsuits, Racine’s office alleges that D.C. real estate agent Amaka “Vanessa” Akinola, acting as an agent of Porter House International Realty Group, discriminated against prospective tenants in online ads for rental units at a property on Galveston Street in Ward 8. According to the lawsuit, an ad posted on Craigslist included the words “No Section 8,” referring to housing vouchers. The lawsuit alleges that both Akinola and Porter House “are responsible for the discriminatory advertisement.”

An owner of Porter House International who preferred WAMU/DCist not use his name called the allegations against the group, which he said is Black-owned and woman-owned, “reprehensible.”

“Porter House doesn’t post ads on Craigslist; anybody who did that was acting independently,” the owner said in a phone call. “We don’t condone any discriminatory language for any reason whatsoever. We love to work with people who need housing; that’s what we’re here to do.”

The owner said Akinola “is no longer affiliated” with the company. An attorney for Akinola was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday afternoon.

In another suit, Racine alleges that D.C. landlord and property owner Afolake Elizabeth O-Shokunbi would not provide a prospective tenant who is Black and participates in the housing choice voucher program with an approval letter she needed to receive payment assistance for her security deposit, and that in so doing prevented her from renting a unit at a rowhouse in Ward 4. The suit alleges that Shokunbi, who also is Black, made discriminatory statements toward the prospective tenant, Markita Sligh, on the basis of race.

“During the showing, defendant Shokunbi told Ms. Sligh that defendant Shokunbi had only had white tenants and had never had a problem with any of them,” the lawsuit states. “Ms. Sligh responded that, if approved to rent, she would take good care of the home. Defendant Shokunbi replied that everyone says that until they move in.”

When contacted by WAMU/DCist, Shokunbi referred comments to her attorney, who has not yet returned a request for comment.

In a third suit, Racine alleges that KEM Associates, property management company Delwin Realty and two of its employees discriminated against a tenant at Hillcrest House in Ward 8 who had mobility issues. The lawsuit says the tenant, Artricia Morton, was denied a designated disability parking space close to her unit and that Delwin Realty counsel advised her to relocate to “another community where a personally assigned parking space would be feasible.”

Delwin Realty has not responded to a request for comment. WAMU/DCist has not been able to reach KEM Associates.

In the three lawsuits, Racine’s office is seeking injunctions to halt the alleged discrimination, in addition to damages, costs to the District and civil penalties. He’s also requesting restitution for those who were subject to the alleged discrimination in the cases involving Sligh and Morton, according to a press release.

Racine has sued scores of landlords in his tenure. The attorney general announced a suite of lawsuits in July against 16 property managers, landlords and realtors for allegedly posting online ads that indicated they would not rent to potential tenants who used housing vouchers.

A bill introduced last year by At-Large D.C. Councilmember Elissa Silverman, still under D.C. Council review, would raise penalties for landlords who won’t rent units to people who use federal rental assistance vouchers.

Racine has said that discrimination against voucher holders exacerbates the challenges posed by D.C.’s housing shortage and the economic crisis spurred by the pandemic. He also says it’s an issue that occurs at all levels of the housing market.

“The reality is is that the breadth of the lawsuits that we brought over the last two years show that, unfortunately, discrimination occurs throughout the real estate market in regards to the pricing diversity of the city,” Racine said. “Folks who wrongly do not want to [lease to] voucher holders, that happens in market-rate places in Northwest Washington.”

The pandemic has intensified the “economic insecurity” many D.C. renters are experiencing, Racine says, with more renters in need of housing assistance.

“For them to be confronting a marketplace that is not following the law is certainly an anxiety-inducing process,” Racine says. “The pandemic is having an impact, and that’s even more the reason why we’ve got to be collaborative with our partner [the D.C. Office of Human Rights] and strong in our enforcement cases.”