Fair Housing. It’s the Law.
Our Mission, Vision, and Values
If you’re a landlord, real estate broker, insurance provider, bank or other lending institution, it is illegal to discriminate against someone trying to: rent an apartment/condominium/house/mobile home; buy a house, condo or mobile home; negotiate the sale of a house, condo or mobile home. This includes any interference with lease terms, security deposits, privileges, purchase terms, interest rates, insurance rates and can extend to harassment and advertising practices.
Your Rights
All Americans have the right to choose where they wish to live, regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, familial status, sex, handicap, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.
Recognizing the Signs of Discrimination
Some common phrases and scenarios that represent discrimination based on:
Race or Color
- “You would make the other tenants uncomfortable”
- “We don’t rent to your kind”
- You visit a complex about the “For Rent” sign, the manager tells you it’s been rented, but two days later the sign is still up
- “I’m sure you’d feel more at home in another neighborhood.”
Familial Status
- Refusing to rent to you or telling you to go to the complex down the street
- Having rules for children, as opposed to rules for tenants
- Restricting families with children to downstairs units only
- Segregating families to one area of the complex
- Complex rules against boys and girls sharing the same room
Disability
- Refusing to rent to you or telling you to go to the complex down the street
- Requiring an increased security deposit because of your disability
- Refusing to allow reasonable physical modifications to a unit
- Refusing to make reasonable accommodations to policies or procedures
- “Are you sure you can live by yourself?”
Sex
- “Gee Honey, how badly do you want your stove fixed?”
- Refusing to rent to two males, but will rent to two females.
- “We don’t rent to male roommates, they get too rowdy.”
- “A single woman? How are you going to take care of the yard?”
Religion
- “I prefer to rent to people who are referred to me through my church.”
- The manager asks about your religion or your religions beliefs during the application process
National Origin
- “I need to see your green card before I can rent to you.”
- “I can’t understand you.”
- “You would be more comfortable living down the street because there are more people like you.”