5.2 Federal Fair Housing Law and Protected Classes

The Federal Protected Classes

The Fair Housing Act of 1968 (Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act) prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, financing, and advertising of housing based on seven federally protected classes. A memory aid is "RR-NFS-SD" or the phrase "Race, Religion, National origin, Familial status, Sex, Disability, Color."

Note: age, marital status, sexual orientation, and source of income are not federal protected classes, though many states and cities add them. On a federal-portion question, do not pick a class that was added only by state law.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

The 1866 Act bars all racial discrimination in any property transaction, with no exemptions whatsoever. This matters because the 1968 Act allows narrow exemptions — but those exemptions can never be used to discriminate by race. Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co. (1968) upheld this.

Prohibited Practices

Four discriminatory practices appear on nearly every fair-housing question. Intent does not matter — the effect is illegal.

• Steering — Directing buyers toward or away from neighborhoods based on a protected class (e.g., showing a family with children only homes in certain areas).
• Blockbusting (panic selling) — Inducing owners to sell by claiming that people of a protected class are moving in and will lower values.
• Redlining — A lender or insurer refusing or worsening terms for loans/insurance in certain areas based on the composition of the neighborhood.
• Discriminatory advertising — Any ad that states a preference or limitation based on a protected class. This rule has no exemptions — even an otherwise-exempt owner cannot place a discriminatory ad.

Disability and Familial Status

For disability, a housing provider must:

1. Allow reasonable accommodations — changes to rules/policies (e.g., waiving a no-pets policy for a service or assistance animal; no pet deposit may be charged).
2. Allow reasonable modifications — physical changes (e.g., a ramp); generally at the tenant's expense in private rentals.
3. Not refuse to rent or impose different terms because of a disability, and not ask about the nature/severity of a disability.

For familial status, a provider generally cannot refuse families with children. The exception is qualified "55 or older" / 62-and-older senior housing that meets HUD's occupancy criteria.

Exemptions and Enforcement

The 1968 Act has a few narrow exemptions, none of which excuse racial discrimination (1866 Act) or discriminatory advertising:

The instant a real estate licensee is involved, the exemptions disappear — agents are held to the full Act at all times.

Enforcement

• HUD enforces the federal Act.
• An aggrieved person generally has one year to file an administrative complaint with HUD, or two years to file suit in federal court.
• Remedies include actual and punitive damages, injunctions, and civil penalties.

Equal Housing Opportunity logo/poster display is required practice. A licensee who follows a client's discriminatory instruction is still liable — "the client told me to" is never a defense.

Special Situations and Liability

A few recurring fact patterns separate strong test-takers from weak ones.

• Assistance/service animals are not pets. A no-pets policy must yield as a reasonable accommodation, no pet deposit or pet rent may be charged, and the provider may not demand to see medical records or ask the nature of the disability.
• Familial status and occupancy. A landlord may apply reasonable, non-discriminatory occupancy standards, but cannot use "too many children" as a pretext to refuse families. Refusing to rent to a family with children, or steering them to "family buildings," is illegal.
• HIV/AIDS and disability. A person with HIV/AIDS is protected under the disability category; you may not disclose a prior occupant's condition.
• Stigmatized property. Federal law does not require disclosing that a death, suicide, or felony occurred at a property; many states bar disclosing it. This is distinct from a physical material defect, which must be disclosed.

Advertising and the ADA

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that commercial/public-accommodation spaces (offices, retail) be accessible — a separate statute from the Fair Housing Act, which covers residential dwellings. On a question about a real estate office that the public visits, think ADA; on a question about renting an apartment, think Fair Housing Act. Mixing these up is a classic trap.

Finally, the duty runs to everyone in the transaction. A licensee cannot accept a discriminatory listing instruction, cannot use coded language in marketing ("perfect for a young Christian family," "exclusive neighborhood"), and cannot make distinctions in the level of service offered based on a protected class.