5.2 Federal Fair Housing Law and Protected Classes

Statutory Foundations

Federal fair housing law grew in layers. Know the dates and what each added:

• Civil Rights Act of 1866 - bans discrimination based on race in all property transactions. No exemptions, ever.
• Fair Housing Act of 1968 (Title VIII) - added race, color, religion, and national origin.
• 1974 amendment - added sex.
• 1988 Fair Housing Amendments Act - added familial status and disability (handicap), and added HUD administrative enforcement.

The 1866 Act is the trap: because it has no exemptions, race discrimination is always actionable even where a 1968-Act exemption might otherwise apply.

The Seven Federal Protected Classes

Mnemonic: Religion, Color, Race, National origin, Sex, Familial status, Disability. Many states and cities add classes such as age, marital status, source of income, or sexual orientation - but those are NOT federal.

Limited Exemptions

The 1968 Act allows a few narrow exemptions - none of which ever excuse race discrimination, and none of which apply if a broker is used or discriminatory advertising appears:

• Owner-occupied buildings of four or fewer units (the "Mrs. Murphy" exemption).
• Single-family home sold or rented by the owner without a broker, limited to one at a time, with no discriminatory advertising.
• Religious organizations and private clubs limiting occupancy to members, where membership is not race-based.

Watch the conditions: the moment a licensee touches the deal or a biased ad runs, the exemption evaporates.

Familial Status and Senior Housing

Familial status protects households with one or more children under 18, pregnant persons, and anyone in the process of obtaining custody. A landlord cannot refuse families, charge them more, or steer them to a "kids' building."

The only escape is qualified housing for older persons:

• 62+ housing: every occupant must be 62 or older.
• 55+ housing: at least 80% of units must have one resident 55 or older, with policies demonstrating intent to be senior housing.

These communities are lawfully exempt from familial-status claims - but still must comply with the other six classes.

Note the asymmetry: senior housing may lawfully exclude families with children, but it can never exclude on the basis of race, disability, religion, or any other protected class. A 55+ community that turns away an applicant because of national origin still violates the Act.

Disability: Modifications vs. Accommodations

Two distinct duties appear constantly on the exam:

• Reasonable modification = a physical change to the unit (grab bars, a ramp). The tenant generally pays, and in a rental the landlord may require restoration to original condition for interior changes.
• Reasonable accommodation = a change in rules, policies, or services (waiving a no-pets policy for a service or assistance animal, assigning a reserved accessible parking space). The landlord absorbs the cost unless it is an undue burden.

A landlord may not charge a pet deposit for a verified assistance animal, because it is not a pet. New multifamily buildings of four or more units (first occupied after March 13, 1991) must also meet the Act's seven design-and-construction accessibility standards.

Prohibited Practices

Three practices are illegal even when no individual complains, because they harm the market itself:

• Steering - guiding buyers toward or away from neighborhoods based on a protected class ("You'd be more comfortable over here").
• Blockbusting (panic peddling) - inducing owners to sell by suggesting that members of a protected class are moving in and values will fall.
• Redlining - a lender or insurer refusing or worsening terms in an area based on its protected-class composition.

Enforcement: a complainant generally has one year to file an administrative complaint with HUD, or up to two years to bring a federal civil suit. HUD investigates, may conciliate, and can refer to an administrative law judge or the Department of Justice. Penalties escalate with repeat offenses, and civil suits can recover actual and punitive damages plus attorney fees.

ADA, Service Animals, and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act

Two adjacent laws round out fair-housing testing. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) governs public accommodations — a real-estate brokerage office open to the public must be accessible. It differs from the Fair Housing Act, which governs housing. A service or assistance animal in housing is handled under the FHA as a reasonable accommodation; no pet deposit or pet rent may be charged, and the animal need not be professionally trained.

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) bars lenders from discriminating in credit decisions based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, or receipt of public assistance. A lender may not discourage an applicant or set worse terms on these bases — the credit-side companion to the FHA's housing-side protections.

Advertising Pitfalls and an Enforcement Timeline Recap

Fair-housing advertising violations are strict: language that states a preference, limitation, or discrimination toward a protected class is illegal even without intent to exclude. "Adults preferred," "ideal for a Christian family," or "no kids" all violate familial-status or religion protections. Describe the property, never the ideal occupant.

Enforcement deadlines are testable numbers: a complainant has one year to file an administrative complaint with HUD, or up to two years to file a federal civil lawsuit. HUD investigates and may conciliate; unresolved cases go to an administrative law judge or are referred to the Department of Justice. Remedies include actual damages, injunctions, and civil penalties that escalate for repeat violations, plus attorney fees in civil suits.