Fair Housing and What You Need to Know

By: CHRIS JOHNSON Realtor - Property Manager

Weichert Realtors, Towne & Country Property Management; Lexington, KY

As landlords and property managers we are required by law to observe the Federal Fair Housing Act. (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968) These laws are designed to protect certain classes of people that might otherwise be discriminated against intentionally or unintentionally.

Protected Classes include: 

• Race
• Color
• Religion
• Sex
• Familial Status
• Handicap
• National Origin

It should also be noted that some local ordinances may even have additional protected classes so it would be good to make sure that you know what these are.

The department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) oversees the enforcement of the fair housing act. 

Under the Fair Housing Act no one involved in the sale or renting of housing may discriminate against one of the protected classes:

• By refusing to rent or sell housing
• By making housing unavailable
• By denying anyone access to membership in a service that involves the sale or listing of housing
• By denying that housing is available when it is
• By steering a protected group toward another area even within an apartment community
• or by or by setting different qualifying standards for different groups of people.

While Fair Housing laws apply to other Real Estate transactions, as a landlord you should be concerned with observing them carefully. Becoming familiar with Federal Fair Housing standards will help you avoid missteps that may not even be intentional. Ignorance of the law will not save you from possible fines or the headache of fighting a discrimination complaint. 

Let's take some examples where the law could be violated unintentionally.

Familial Status

Let's say that during a casual conversation you ask the potential renters if they have any kids. While this question may seem to be innocent on the surface, it is actually a violation of the law. Under the law, you are not allowed to ask any questions that allude to the familial status of the applicant(s). However, you can ask "how many occupants will be living on the premises".

Additional Security Deposits

If you require one renter in a certain situation to pay a higher security deposit than another, this could be construed by a person of a protected class as discrimination. It is better to have a clearly written policy on this matter and even more important that it be applied equally and uniformly in all circumstances just as written.

Advertising

As a property manager or landlord, you must be very careful not to intentionally discriminate in your advertising. This can be very easy to do according to Fair Housing laws unintentionally. For example: simply describing a property as "family friendly" or using terms such as "great for a couple without children" could be classified as discriminating again one way or the other either for or against those with children. 

Religion

Even something as simple as saying "There is a close church on the next block" can be taken by the potential tenant as pushing your religious preferences on them.

Culture

This falls under the "National Origin" portion of protected classes. While making small talk it may seem innocent enough to ask "What spices do you cook with?" However, a question like that could make it seem that you would discriminate if you didn't like the answer.

There are additional protections under the fair housing act if a person has a disability. If an applicant has a physical or mental disability that substantially limits a major life activity or even if it is regarded that a person has such then it is a violation to refuse "reasonable modifications" to the dwelling in order to permit use by one who is disabled. It is also illegal not to allow "reasonable modifications" of standing rules, policies, services and practices if necessary to permit the disabled use of the housing.

Examples of "reasonable modifications" would include allowing a person with a handicap to have a service animal if your operating guidelines do not ordinarily permit animals. Allowing the tenant (at their own expense) to make modifications that do not compromise structural integrity or that could affect future use and can not be brought back to its original condition without major cost to the owner. Examples would include allowing the tenant to put grab bars in a shower, lowering the cabinets, making a lower peephole and widening the doorway for wheelchair access.

To avoid a possible discrimination complaint my advice for landlords is to keep your conversations strictly about the ability to pay rent, lease terms, positive rental history and income requirements. Sadly just trying to be nice by engaging in chit chat can get you in trouble.

My final piece of advice is to have supporting documentation and clearly written policy to make sure that all applicants are treated the same. I personally have a disclaimer on all applications that the applicants must sign that clearly states how they will be treated based on the requirements described within. In this way, if it ever came down to litigation you will have all the supporting evidence needed to prove that you did not discriminate.