Protecting Your Rights What You Need To Know About Fair Housing Laws 2012

Protecting Your
Rights: What You
Need to Know about
Fair Housing Laws
SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center


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the courts, legislature, administrative
agencies, community and the media, and
helping others do the same through
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Mission


The goal of this presentation is to teach
you general information about your rights
under Fair Housing laws.



Because of time constraints, only the
major points of the laws will be addressed.



At the end of this presentation, you should
have a better understanding about the
laws that protect you from housing
discrimination and what to do if you think
your rights have been violated.

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Disclaimer


This overview of Fair Housing law is
for informational purposes only. It is
not meant to address a specific legal
problem.



If you have specific questions about a
housing problem, you should contact
a lawyer of your choice to get help.

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What Is the Fair Housing

Act?


The federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) was
made a law by Congress on April 11,
1968.



It was part of the Civil Rights Act of
1968.



After the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s
assassination on April 4, 1968, President
Lyndon B. Johnson urged Congress to
pass the law. In the years before King’s
death, the law had been considered but
did not have enough support to pass.
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What Is the Fair Housing
Act?


The 1968 Fair Housing Act made it
illegal to discriminate against people
in most types of housing transactions

because of their race, color, religion,
or national origin.


In 1974, gender was added to the list.



In 1988, disability and familial status were
added to the list (in the Fair Housing
Amendments Act)
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

What groups of people does
the Fair Housing Act protect
now?

The FHA now protects people from
being discriminated against in
housing because of their








Race
Color
Religion
Gender
National Origin
Disability
Familial status
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What is National Origin?


National origin means where someone
was born, or where their parents,
grandparents, etc. were born.



It may be hard to tell where a person
was born, but there may be signs of his
or her national origin, like an accent,
that can lead to discrimination. The
FHA makes it illegal to discriminate in
housing for that reason.

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

What groups of people does
the Fair Housing Act protect
now?

The FHA now protects people from
being discriminated against in
housing because of their








Race
Color
Religion
Gender
National Origin
Disability
Familial status
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What is Familial Status?


In general, familial status means whether or
not there is a child under 18 in the
household.



It can also mean whether someone is
pregnant, or getting legal custody or
already has legal custody of one or more
children under 18.


Example: It would be illegal under the FHA to refuse to
rent to someone just because he has legal custody of
his grandchild who is 16.
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What is Familial Status?


The FHA makes it illegal for most housing
providers to refuse to rent or sell housing
to people because of their familial status.

Exception: Some housing is set aside by the
government as “Housing for Older Persons”
or “Senior Housing”. Special rules have to
be met for housing to use this exception to
the FHA.

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

What groups of people does
the Fair Housing Act protect
now?

The FHA now protects people from
being discriminated against in
housing because of their








Race
Color
Religion
Gender
National Origin
Disability
Familial status
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What counts as a disability
under the FHA?


Under the FHA, a disability is a physical
or mental problem that largely limits one
or more of a person’s major life activities



Having a record of such a problem or
being regarded as having such a problem
is also in the definition



If a person has a record of having a
disability in the past, that past disability
cannot be used against them to keep
them out of housing
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What counts as a disability
under the FHA?
Some examples of disabilities under the
FHA are having a mental illness, a learning
disability, past drug addiction, alcoholism,
having a disease like HIV or AIDS,

blindness,
or having a hearing problem.
The current use of illegal drugs is not
covered
under the FHA.
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What counts as a disability
under the FHA?


Landlords can refuse to rent to people
who have been convicted in court of
selling or making drugs.



Landlords can also refuse to rent to a
person who is a direct threat to
someone’s health or safety, or to
someone who would substantially
damage the landlord’s property or the
property of others.


In order to prove this in court, the landlord has to
have recent evidence to back up this claim.
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What types of actions are
illegal under the FHA?
We have learned that the FHA makes it
illegal to discriminate in housing
because of
someone’s race, color, religion,
national
origin, gender, disability, or familial
status.
But what does this really mean?
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This means that the FHA makes it illegal to do
the
following because of someone’s race, color,
religion,
national origin gender, disability, or familial
status:


Refuse to rent or sell housing



Refuse to negotiate on housing



Deny someone a unit




Example: Putting all people of one race in one part of a building

Make different rules for renting or selling housing


Example: Making a man pay a smaller rental deposit than a woman
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This means that the FHA makes it illegal to do
the
following because of someone’s race, color,
religion,
national origin gender, disability, or familial
status:
(continued)


Give different housing services or facilities




Example: Having pools for one race only

Claim that housing is not for rent or sale when it actually is


This includes not allowing inspection of the unit



Convince someone else, for profit, not to sell or rent a unit



Deny someone membership in a facility or service that
comes with the house


Example: Refusing to list a unit in a multiple listing service
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This means that the FHA makes it illegal to do
the
following because of someone’s race, color,
religion,
national origin gender, disability, or familial
status:
(continued)


Refuse to make a mortgage loan




Refuse to give information on loans




Example: Making loans to one race only

Example: Refusing to give loan information to someone with an
accent

Make different rules about a loan


Example: Different interest rates or fees for one race over another
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This means that the FHA makes it illegal to
do the
following because of someone’s race, color,
religion,
national origin gender, disability, or familial
status:
(continued)


Discriminate in appraising the value of property



Refuse to purchase a loan



Set different rules for purchasing a loan
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It is also illegal under the FHA
to:


Threaten or try to force or scare
someone who is protecting his or her
rights under the Fair Housing Act



Make a statement or place an ad (in
writing or by phone) that lists a
preference for a renter or buyer of
property based on their race, color,
religion, national origin, gender,
disability, or familial status
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Examples of Discriminatory
Advertisement
Ads that use certain words to limit the
type of renter/buyer the person is looking
for, such as:


Using the words “No Men” or “Christians
only” in an ad to rent an apartment



Using the words “No immigrants” or
“Couples only” in an ad to sell a house
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Examples of Discriminatory
Advertisement
Ads that would keep certain people or
groups of people from renting or buying
housing in an area, such as:


Using the words “Mostly Asian
neighborhood” or “quiet, childless
neighborhood” in an ad to sell a home



Using the words “nearly all Christian
families” to rent a unit in an apartment
building
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Does the FHA apply to all types of
housing?


The FHA covers most types of housing.



Under the FHA, housing can be places that
are rented or places that are bought.


This means that apartments, condos,
houses, and mobiles homes can all be
covered by the FHA.

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What Housing Is NOT Covered
by the FHA?
There are some types of housing that are not
covered by
some parts of the FHA:



Buildings with no more than four units where the
owner lives in one of the units



Single-family homes that are sold or rented
without a broker or agent




The owner must have no more than 3 homes, must have not sold
a house in the last 24 months, and does not use discriminatory
advertising

Housing run by private clubs where only club
members live or by religious organizations in
some circumstances (very limited exceptions)
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