The Fair Housing Act
One of the first things every landlord must do is become familiar with the federal fair housing regulations, laws enacted to discourage discrimination against groups of people. There's no need to be paranoid about every word you write in an ad or say to a potential tenant, but it's important to know what the law states and to comply with it.
The Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability. The act affects landlords as well as other entities, including banks and insurance companies.
The entire Fair Housing Act can be viewed online at the HUD Web site,
The government uses testers to make sure that landlords are operating under fair housing guidelines. Learn the laws and follow them, because you never know when a potential tenant is actually a federal employee who's been sent to check out your rental practices.
What's Considered Illegal
Whether you are renting or selling, you cannot take any of the following actions simply because someone is a member of one of the groups protected against discrimination:
Refuse to negotiate, rent, or sell housing
Make housing unavailable
Deny someone a dwelling
Set different terms, conditions, or privileges for different groups of people
Provide different services or facilities to different groups of people
Falsely deny that housing is available for sale or rent
Profit by persuading owners to sell or rent based on news of changes to neighborhood demographics, the overall makeup of people who live there
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) investigates complaints made about discriminatory practices. The Department of Justice can initiate a lawsuit if they believe the accused offender has shown a pattern of discriminatory behavior.
Exemptions to the Federal Law
Most housing is covered by the Fair Housing Act, but some dwellings are exempt. Exemptions include an owner-occupied building that contains no more than four units when units are being sold or rented without employing a real-estate broker. A single-family residence is exempt if it is rented or sold by an owner who does not own more than three such homes. Only one such sale is exempt during a twenty-four month period if the residence is not owner occupied. Rental rooms are exempt in an owner-occupied dwelling of four or fewer units.
Religious organizations can require that prospects be a member of their religion as long as they do not exclude people from the religion based on their belonging to the other protected classes.
Even when exemptions are allowed, owners cannot use discriminatory advertising to find tenants and buyers.
Some buildings and communities qualify as housing intended strictly for older persons. If yours does not, you cannot discriminate against families with children. Refer to current fair housing laws to find out what steps you must take to qualify a development as senior housing.
Language Appropriate to Housing Ads
One of the best things to remember when writing your ads is to talk about the property,
Statements such as “perfect for senior citizens,” “nice apartment for young professionals,” and “family-oriented housing development” should be avoided. Don't put yourself in a position where any group could question your motives.
