Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-2026
Abstract
The United States is facing a dire housing crisis, and most Americans agree that housing is a universal necessity. Yet under current Supreme Court jurisprudence, housing is not a fundamental right, and individuals facing housing insecurity from an eviction are generally not members of a suspect class. This is because eviction is often viewed as an individual problem and a symptom of poverty, which the Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed is not a suspect classification. This Article disrupts the superficial narrative that eviction is an individualistic symptom of poverty, and instead views evictions from a systemic and historical perspective. It argues that this shift in viewpoint opens the door to constitutional protections for some evictees. To accomplish this, the Article introduces a novel framework—the Eviction Caste System. It builds this system in three parts. First, it outlines the origins of the system, including discriminatory housing initiatives throughout the 1900s, which relegated certain minority populations to rentals rather than homeownership and excluded these individuals from generational wealth building. Second, it explores contemporary factors that have solidified the system, such as the rise of artificial intelligence and tenant screening companies, which sell inaccurate and incomplete data to landlords who rely on it when deciding who to rent to. This process brands tenants with a “Scarlet E,” carrying lifelong consequences that are frequently passed down to future generations. And third, it draws on definitions and teachings about caste from other arenas to propose a system comprised of three castes—the Preferred Property Caste, the Perpetual Renter Caste, and the Scarlet E Caste. It posits that those subjected to historically discriminatory housing practices and carrying the “Scarlet E” occupy the lowest rung of the caste system, having access only to poor quality housing in under-resourced areas. With this systemic framework in place, the Article concludes by offering a path for protections for the Scarlet E Caste—through the Fourteenth Amendment and the Court’s unconstitutional animus jurisprudence as well as an amendment to the Fair Housing Act. The viewpoint shift offered by this Article thus advances protection of an exceedingly vulnerable (although not suspect) class, and recognition of a critically important (although not fundamental) right. It also brings collective power to this group of individuals, many of whom have traditionally been unable to vindicate their rights through affirmative litigation. And it moves the needle toward addressing the pressing housing crisis in the United States.
Publication Title
Boston College Law Review
Volume
67
Issue
5
First Page
1503
Last Page
1552
Keywords
Housing law, Civil Rights, Discrimination, Fourteenth Amendment, United States Supreme Court, Fair Housing Act, Scarlet E
Recommended Citation
67 B.C. L. Rev. 1503 (2026)