The Federal Fair Housing Act
The federal Fair Housing Act protects people from discrimination when they are renting or buying a home, getting a mortgage, seeking housing assistance, or engaging in other housing-related activities. Additional protections apply to federally assisted housing. The Fair Housing Act is located in the United States Code, beginning at 42 U.S.C. §3601.
Who Is Protected?
The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing because of:
• Race
• Color
• National Origin
• Religion
• Sex
• Familial Status
• Disability
What Types of Housing Are Covered?
The Fair Housing Act covers most housing. In very limited circumstances, the Act exempts owner-occupied buildings with no more than four units; single-family houses sold or rented by the owner without the use of an agent; and housing operated by religious organizations and private clubs that limit occupancy to members.
What Is Prohibited?
In the Sale and Rental of Housing:
It is illegal discrimination to take any of the following actions because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin:
• Refuse to rent or sell housing
• Refuse to negotiate for housing
• Otherwise make housing unavailable
• Set different terms, conditions, or privileges for sale or rental of a dwelling
• Provide a person different housing services or facilities
• Falsely deny that housing is available for inspection, sale, or rental
• Make, print, or publish any notice, statement, or advertisement with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation, or discrimination
• Impose different sales prices or rental charges for the sale or rental of a dwelling
• Use different qualification criteria or applications, or sale or rental standards or procedures, such as income standards, application requirements, application fees, credit analyses, sale or rental approval procedures, or other requirements
• Evict a tenant or a tenant’s guest
• Harass a person
• Fail or delay performance of maintenance or repairs
• Limit privileges, services, or facilities of a dwelling
• Discourage the purchase or rental of a dwelling
• Assign a person to a particular building or neighborhood or section of a building or neighborhood
• For profit, persuade, or try to persuade, homeowners to sell their homes by suggesting that people of a particular protected characteristic are about to move into the neighborhood (blockbusting)
• Refuse to provide or discriminate in the terms or conditions of homeowners insurance because of the race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin of the owner or occupants of a dwelling
• Deny access to or membership in any multiple listing service or real estate brokers’ organization
In Mortgage Lending:
It is illegal discrimination to take any of the following actions based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin:
• Refuse to make a mortgage loan or provide other financial assistance for a dwelling
• Refuse to provide information regarding loans
• Impose different terms or conditions on a loan, such as different interest rates, points, or fees
• Discriminate in appraising a dwelling
• Condition the availability of a loan on a person’s response to harassment
• Refuse to purchase a loan
Harassment:
The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to harass persons because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin. Among other things, this forbids sexual harassment.
Other Prohibitions:
In addition, it is illegal discrimination to:
• Threaten, coerce, intimidate, or interfere with anyone exercising a fair housing right or assisting others who exercise the right
• Retaliate against a person who has filed a fair housing complaint or assisted in a fair housing investigation
Advertising:
In nearly all housing—including private housing, public housing, and housing that receives federal funding—the Fair Housing Act prohibits the making, printing, and publishing of advertisements that indicate a preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin.
The prohibition applies to publishers—such as newspapers and directories—as well as to persons and entities who place real estate advertisements in newspapers and on websites. It also applies where the advertisement itself violates the Act, even if the property being advertised may be exempt from the provisions of the Act. Other federal civil rights laws may also prohibit discriminatory advertising practices.
Examples of advertising that may violate the Act include phrases such as “no children”—which indicates discrimination on the basis of familial status—or “no wheelchairs”—which indicates disability discrimination.
Federal law requires that applicants for participation in Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) subsidized and unsubsidized housing programs pursue affirmative fair housing marketing policies. This is to help ensure that individuals of similar income levels in the same housing market area have a like range of housing choices available to them, regardless of their race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin.
Additional Protections for Persons with Disabilities:
Housing providers must make reasonable accommodations and allow reasonable modifications that may be necessary to allow persons with disabilities to enjoy their housing. Certain multifamily housing must be accessible to persons with disabilities.
State Fair Housing Laws
Most states also have fair housing laws that prohibit discrimination in housing opportunities. These laws are usually located in a state’s statutes.
Using Background Checks to Screen Tenants
Using background checks to screen tenants? Or maybe your company provides those background checks to landlords? Make sure you’re complying with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which is located in the United States Code, beginning at 15 U.S.C. §1681.
What do landlords need to know?
Landlords must take certain steps before getting a consumer report and after taking an adverse action based on the report. A consumer report can include a credit report, a rental history report, or a criminal history report.
Landlords can only get consumer reports if they have a “permissible purpose,” like tenant screening. Before you get a consumer report, you must certify to the company providing the report that you will use the report only for housing purposes.
If you, as a landlord, take an adverse action against a tenant or rental applicant, then you must give notice—orally, in writing, or electronically.
An adverse action is any action by a landlord that is unfavorable to the interests of a rental applicant or tenant. Examples of common adverse actions by landlords include:
• Denying the application;
• Requiring a co-signer on the lease;
• Requiring a deposit that would not be required for another applicant;
• Requiring a larger deposit than might be required for another applicant; and
• Raising the rent to a higher amount than for another applicant.
When you send an adverse action notice, it must include the contact information for the company who supplied the report and an explanation of the right to dispute the report.
What should tenant background screening companies keep in mind?
Even if you don’t think of your company as a consumer reporting agency, it may be one if it provides information about people to landlords for use in housing decisions. Background screening reports provided by your company are covered by the FCRA if they’re used to help decide eligibility for housing and include information “bearing on a consumer’s creditworthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living.”
If your tenant background screening company is covered by the FCRA, then you have four main requirements:
• Follow reasonable procedures to ensure accuracy.
• Get certifications from your clients.
• Provide your clients with information about the FCRA.
• Honor the rights of applicants and tenants.
Whether you’re a landlord or a tenant background screening company, when you’re done using a consumer report, you must securely dispose of it.
The Federal Fair Housing Act is a federal law that prohibits discrimination in housing-related activities due to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability. In Texas, as in all states, this law applies to most housing situations, including renting, buying, or securing a mortgage. The Act makes it illegal to refuse to rent or sell housing, set different terms for housing, provide different housing services, or falsely deny that housing is available, among other discriminatory practices, based on the protected characteristics. It also prohibits harassment and retaliation against individuals exercising their fair housing rights. The Act covers advertising, requiring that housing advertisements do not show preference or discrimination. For persons with disabilities, housing providers must make reasonable accommodations and modifications. Additionally, landlords using background checks for tenant screening must comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), ensuring they use consumer reports only for housing purposes and provide necessary notices to applicants if taking adverse actions based on those reports.
