Property management & leasing
Fair Housing Act: Definition & Example
Also called: FHA
What Is the Fair Housing Act?
The Fair Housing Act is a federal law that prohibits discrimination in renting, selling, and financing housing based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability.
What does Fair Housing Act mean?
Passed in 1968 and amended in 1988, the Fair Housing Act applies to most housing, including rental screening, advertising, lease terms, and how tenants are treated during a tenancy. HUD enforces it, and violations can lead to administrative complaints, lawsuits, and damages.
The law also requires reasonable accommodations and modifications for people with disabilities. Examples include allowing an assistance animal in a no-pet building or a reserved accessible parking space.
Many states and cities add protected classes beyond the federal list, such as source of income, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or criminal history. Clear, written rental criteria applied the same way to every applicant are the foundation of compliant screening.
Fair Housing Act example
A landlord advertises a two-bedroom unit as "perfect for a single professional" and tells a family with two children it is not a good fit. That can be familial status discrimination under the Fair Housing Act, even though the landlord never formally denied an application.
Related terms
- Source-of-Income DiscriminationSource-of-income discrimination is treating a rental applicant differently because of where their lawful income comes from, such as a housing voucher, Social Security, child support, or public assistance.
- Rental CriteriaRental criteria are the written standards a landlord uses to evaluate every applicant, such as minimum income, rental history, credit, and background requirements.
- Tenant ScreeningTenant screening is the process landlords use to evaluate rental applicants, typically by reviewing identity, income, rental history, credit, and background information against written criteria.
- Adverse Action NoticeAn adverse action notice is a disclosure required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act when a landlord, lender, or employer takes a negative action based in whole or in part on a consumer report.
- Housing Choice VoucherA Housing Choice Voucher, commonly called Section 8, is a federal rental assistance program in which a local housing agency pays part of an eligible household’s rent directly to a private landlord.
Fair Housing Act FAQ
- What are the seven protected classes under the Fair Housing Act?
- Race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability.
- Does the Fair Housing Act apply to small landlords?
- Mostly yes. There are narrow exemptions, such as owner-occupied buildings with four or fewer units, but the advertising rules still apply and state laws may be broader.
