April is Fair Housing Month

The information on this page is not legal advice and should not be considered as such. Please find an appropriate attorney to assist you.

April is Fair Housing month for the apartment industry. AATC is delighted to help promote the ideas of fair and equal housing for everyone. On April 11, 1968, the Fair Housing Act was enacted.

If you believe you have experience housing discrimination, visit here to file a complaint: https://www.hud.gov/fairhousing/fileacomplaint

Who Is Protected?

This act of Congress guarantees that no person shall be discriminated against when they are renting or buying a home, applying for a mortgage, receiving housing assistance, or participating in other housing-related activities due to:

• Race
• Color
• National Origin
• Religion
• Sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation)
• Familial Status
• Disability

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 (including gender identity and sexual orientation), 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 (including gender identity and sexual orientation), 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

Visit the US Housing and Urban Development website for a more comprehensive look at the US Fair Housing aCt.