Fair Housing
Additional Information
The Fair Housing Act
The 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.
Learn about the History of the Fair Housing Act, and read Examples of the many forms of housing discrimination.
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 and/or occupants of a dwelling
- Deny access to or membership in any multiple listing service or real estate brokers’ organization
For more information and examples, visit Examples of Housing Discrimination.
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
For more information about discrimination in mortgage lending, visit Fair Lending.
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. Learn more about sexual harassment here.
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:
For more information about advertising and the Fair Housing Act, visit Advertising and Marketing.
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. Get more information about reasonable accommodation here.
Certain multifamily housing must be accessible to persons with disabilities.
Statutes
42 U.S.C. §§ 3601-19
Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act), as amended, prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings, and in other housing-related transactions, because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, and disability. It also requires that all federal programs relating to housing and urban development be administered in a manner that affirmatively furthers fair housing.
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
42 U.S.C. § 2000d-1
Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
29 U.S.C. § 794
Section 504 prohibits discrimination based on disability in any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
29 U.S.C. § 794d
Section 508 requires federal agencies to ensure that the electronic and information technology they develop, procure, or use allows individuals with disabilities to have ready access to and use of the information and data that is comparable to that of individuals without disabilities.
Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
42 U.S.C. §§ 12131 – 12165
Title II of the ADA prohibits discrimination based on disability in programs and activities provided or made available by public entities. HUD enforces Title II with respect to housing-related programs and activities of public entities, including public housing, housing assistance and housing referrals.
Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
42 U.S.C. § 12181 – 12189
Title III of the ADA prohibits discrimination based on disability in the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of places of public accommodations owned, leased, or operated by private entities. The Department of Justice enforces Title III of the ADA, but certain HUD recipients and private entities operating housing and community development programs are covered by Title III of the ADA.
Architectural Barriers Act of 1968
42 U.S.C. § 4151 et seq.
The Architectural Barriers Act requires that buildings and facilities designed, constructed, altered, or leased with certain federal funds after September 1969 must be accessible to and useable by persons with disabilities.
Section 109 of Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974
42 U.S.C. § 5309
Section 109 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, and religion in any program or activity funded in whole or in part under Title I of the Community Development Act of 1974, which includes Community Development Block Grants.
Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972
20 U.S.C. §§ 1681-83, 1685-88
Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance. HUD enforces Title IX when it relates to housing affiliated with an educational institution.
42 U.S.C. § 14043e–11
VAWA provide housing protections for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in many of HUD’s housing programs. VAWA also requires the establishment of emergency transfer plans for facilitating the emergency relocation of certain tenants who are victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
Age Discrimination Act
42 U.S.C. §§ 6101 – 6107
The Age Discrimination Act of 1975 prohibits discrimination on the basis of age in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance.
Executive Orders
Equal Opportunity in Housing
Executive Order 11063, issued on November 20, 1962, prohibits discrimination in the sale, leasing, rental, or other disposition of properties and facilities owned or operated by the federal government or provided with federal funds.
Executive Order 12892 | text version
Leadership and Coordination of Fair Housing in Federal Programs: Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing
Executive Order 12892, issued on January 17, 1994, requires federal agencies to affirmatively further fair housing in their programs and activities, and provides that the Secretary of HUD will be responsible for coordinating the effort.
Executive Order 12898 | text version
Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations
Executive Order 12898, issued on February 11, 1994, requires that each federal agency conduct its program, policies, and activities that substantially affect human health or the environment in a manner that does not exclude or otherwise subject persons to discrimination based on race, color, or national origin.
Improving Access to Services for Persons With Limited English Proficiency
Executive Order 13166, issued on August 11, 2000, requires each federal agency to take steps to ensure that eligible persons with limited English proficiency are provided meaningful access to all federally-assisted and federally-conducted programs and activities.
Community Based Alternatives for Individuals With Disabilities
Executive Order 13217, issued on June 18, 2001, requires federal agencies to evaluate their policies and programs to determine if any can be revised or modified to improve the availability of community-based living arrangements for persons with disabilities.
Regulations
Accessibility Standards for Design, Construction, and Alteration of Publicly Owned Residential Structures
Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing
Certification and Funding of State and Local Fair Housing Enforcement Agencies
Collection of Data
Discriminatory Conduct Under the Fair Housing Act
Equal Access Rule
Fair Housing Act Complaint Processing
Fair Housing Poster
Fair Housing Initiatives Program
Information and Communication Technology Standards and Guidelines
Nondiscrimination and Equal Opportunity in Housing Under Executive Order 11063
Nondiscrimination Based on Handicap in Federally-Assisted Programs and Activities of the Department of Housing and Urban Development
Nondiscrimination in Federally-Assisted Programs of the Department of Housing and Urban Development – Effectuation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Nondiscrimination in Programs and Activities Receiving Assistance under Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974
Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Age in HUD Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance
Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in State and Local Government Services
Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance
Protection for Victims of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, or Stalking