LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling must pay nearly three million dollars for discriminating against blacks and Latinos at apartment buildings he owns, it was announced Tuesday.

A statement from the US Justice Department said Sterling would have to pay a 2.725-million-dollar settlement after being sued for discriminating against minorities and people with children.

The settlement must be formally approved by a US District Judge Dale.

The 2006 lawsuit alleged Sterling and his wife engaged in discriminatory rental practices on the basis of race and national origin at several buildings they owned and managed in Los Angeles.

They were also alleged to have told employees at the buildings that blacks and Latinos were not desirable tenants, the Justice Department said.

"Housing is a basic human need, and yet decades after passage of the Fair Housing Act, far too many still encounter barriers like discrimination," said Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division.

"The magnitude of this settlement should send a message to all landlords that we will vigorously pursue violations of the Fair Housing Act."