A broker texted “Ugh. They are Black” to the Black couple she was about to show an apartment

Lisa Renee Olaso got the text on her own phone, seconds before she and her fiancé walked up to the Flushing, Queens, rental they had driven in from Delaware to see. “Ugh. They are Black.” The message was from the Douglas Elliman broker who was about to show them the apartment, and it was meant for someone else.

Olaso and her fiancé are Black. They were moving to New York for her new job, and they were renting, which is the part of the housing market where an agent’s judgment of who walks through the door decides who gets a lease. They have now sued the brokerage, the agent and the property owners.

The suit names broker Helen Tzelios, Douglas Elliman Realty and the owners of the home on 26th Avenue. It alleges violations of the federal Fair Housing Act, the New York State Human Rights Law and the New York City Human Rights Law. Their lawyer, Kenneth Mollins, argues the owners share responsibility because the text appears to have been meant for them, and its wording suggests the owners already knew what the agent was reporting.

Olaso says she confronted the agent when she saw the message. The agent tried to unsend it and could not, according to coverage of the filing. Tzelios then told her the remark referred to previous Black tenants who had caused problems. The couple says that explanation made it worse. “But it doesn’t change the pain,” Olaso said. “It doesn’t take away the pain that you caused us that day.”

Douglas Elliman said in a statement: “Douglas Elliman has a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination of any kind, and the agent is no longer with the company.” Outlets report the firm says it learned of the incident only when it was served with the suit. Tzelios did not respond to requests for comment.

The Fair Housing Act has barred race discrimination in renting and selling homes since 1968. Cases usually turn on proof of what an agent or landlord was thinking. Here the claim rests on the agent’s own written words, delivered to the people they described.

The couple has said they are not suing for the money. They want the story told, and the owners made to answer for what they knew. The case is in Queens state court, where the defendants have yet to file a response.