2.4 Fair Housing in West Virginia

Fair-housing compliance is mandatory for every West Virginia licensee and is enforced at two levels: federal and state. Because the state law adds protected characteristics beyond the federal list, the state portion of the exam tests the West Virginia-specific additions.

Federal Fair Housing Act

The federal Fair Housing Act (Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended) prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on seven protected classes:

Race was the first protected class (back to the Civil Rights Act of 1866) and has the broadest, longest-standing protection.

West Virginia Human Rights Act

The West Virginia Human Rights Act is the state’s anti-discrimination statute. For housing, it prohibits discrimination based on:

Exam point: The state act expressly lists ancestry, age, and blindness in addition to the familiar federal categories. When a question asks which characteristic is protected in West Virginia but is not one of the seven federal classes, the answer is typically ancestry, age, or blindness.

Licensees must comply with whichever law gives the consumer greater protection. Where the state and federal lists differ, the broader coverage controls.

Prohibited Practices

A licensee cannot answer a buyer’s questions about the racial or religious makeup of a neighborhood, even if asked directly — doing so facilitates steering. The correct response is to provide objective, non-demographic resources (schools, crime statistics from public sources) and let the buyer investigate.

Familial Status and the Housing-for-Older-Persons Exemption

Familial status protects households with children under 18, including pregnant persons and those securing custody of a child. A landlord cannot refuse to rent to a family with children, charge them more, or restrict them to certain floors or buildings. The major exception is qualified housing for older persons (for example, 55-and-older communities that meet the federal occupancy and intent tests), which may lawfully exclude children. Outside that narrow exemption, “adults-only” policies in ordinary housing are illegal familial-status discrimination.

West Virginia practice also keeps in view the federal Civil Rights Act of 1866, which bars all racial discrimination in property transactions with no exemptions — it reaches even housing the Fair Housing Act exempts. So a transaction that might fall outside the Fair Housing Act can still violate the 1866 Act if race is the basis.

Disability: Accommodations and Modifications

The law requires housing providers to permit:

Assistance animals are not “pets” for fair-housing purposes — a no-pets policy and pet deposits do not apply to a verified assistance animal needed because of a disability. A provider may ask for verification of a disability-related need when it is not obvious, but may not demand the animal’s training certification or breed/weight limits. New construction of covered multifamily housing must also meet accessibility design requirements (accessible entrances, usable doors, reinforced bathroom walls for later grab bars).

Enforcement

A person who believes they have faced housing discrimination may file:

• a federal complaint with HUD (the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development); or
• a state complaint with the West Virginia Human Rights Commission.

Federal complaints generally must be filed with HUD within one year of the discriminatory act, though an aggrieved person may also file suit in federal court within a longer statutory period. Violations can lead to civil penalties, damages, and injunctive relief, and a fair-housing violation is also grounds for WVREC discipline against the licensee’s license. Because both the licensee and the brokerage can be liable, brokerages train staff and use compliant, preference-free advertising.

A licensee who follows a client’s discriminatory instruction is not excused — “the seller told me to” is no defense, and the licensee should decline the engagement rather than execute an illegal preference.

Practice tip: Keep advertising focused on the property, not the people — describe the home, not the ideal occupant. Phrases implying a preferred family type, religion, or ethnicity are discriminatory advertising even if well-intentioned. Examples of unlawful ad language: “perfect for a Christian family,” “no children,” “ideal for a young couple,” “within walking distance of [a specific religious institution] for members.” Lawful ads describe square footage, bedrooms, amenities, and location features without reference to who should live there.