Do I have a Fair Housing claim?

[Eric R.]

Hello landlords, I'm looking for feedback on a situation where I was the prospective tenant, but I was rejected in favor of another tenant. My understanding is that the landlord should be evaluating applications in the order received so as to not open themselves up to Fair Housing violations in raising questions (like mine below) in choosing one tenant over another. I believe I may have been discriminated against in the process in some way. FYI: I am a very well qualified tenant, (Gross income is 14x rent for the room, credit score in 790s) which would have been verified on my credit and background check, and verification of my pay stubs that the landlord told me were performed. 

Here's the situation:

There's a duplex, 3/3 on either side. I was looking to rent out one of the rooms.

A couple weeks ago I found a place on a Facebook group, spoke with the tenant via text, and set up plans to see the place on the weekend. 

Day 1: The day before I was set to walk it, the tenant reached out saying that someone else had walked the property, and that the property would go to the first person to finish the application process. I immediately asked for the application, and filled it out that day (rec'd app at 1:30pm and submitted before 4pm). 45 minutes after submitting the app, the landlord requested the $40 app fee, and I sent it within the hour.

Day 4: Four days later I still had not heard from the landlord, so I follow up with the tenant, asking if he'd heard anything. Tenant said "She called me yesterday to ask me if I was okay with having a dog. I told her I was and she said there wouldn’t be a problem then. Idk why she’s taking so long on this” (There is already another dog in the unit from the second tenant, and FYI my dog is an Aus shepherd mix, so he's not a dangerous breed).

That evening I get a text from the landlord telling me she verified my pay stubs, and asked for picture ID, which I sent within the hour. She then said around 9pm that night, that I'd be getting an email for a tenant background search, and that I needed to fill it out via email. Told her I'd do it in the morning as it was late.

Day 5: The next morning I fill out and accept the needed info at 10am, and at 10:30am I get a text from landlord saying they're planning on doing interviews "today and tomorrow" and can't continue without my tenant background search document. I told the landlord it's already been sent, however, no interview was ever scheduled.

Day 6: After not hearing anything, I texted the landlord the following day before 5pm asking when an interview would be scheduled. Landlord offered 1pm the next day, but I work full time, and live in a city over an hour and fifteen minutes away. I told her I could not meet in person, but would be happy to do a video or voice call at that time. I was told via text "I think I have enough information, and we’ll make a decision and I’ll let you know tomorrow after 3pm by emailing you."

Day 7: 3pm the next day came and went, no word.

Day 8: I waited until 5pm the next day to ask what the status was via text, no response.

Day 9: I finally received a response at 8:30pm saying "After reviewing all applications that we had received, we regret to inform you, that another applicant was chosen." No reason was provided.

I did not receive an adverse action notice, and I know that my income and credit were not the reason for being rejected. I responded back asking for clarity "I’m really surprised to hear this. It was my understanding that I was the first qualified applicant, can you elaborate on why I was not accepted?" And again, no response. Start to finish, this process with the landlord took 9 days to complete.

I believe the landlord accepted my application fee, intentionally dragged out the application process, and may have knowingly or unknowingly discriminated against me in awarding the room to another tenant whose application likely came in after mine. My understanding is that the landlord should run the applications in the order they are received, but the only way I can attempt to prove I was the first qualified tenant, would be to submit a complaint to fair housing, but I don't know if there's enough teeth in this to pursue. It just doesn't make sense that the landlord would go through all those steps to verify my credit/income/background etc if I was not the leading applicant. I was very responsive throughout the duration of the application process, and based on the information I had, I believe I was the first to submit an application for the room. 

Do any landlords have any additional perspective that they can share, or is it worth filing a claim?