Everything You Need to Know About the Fair Housing Act
As landlords, you need to comply with housing regulations from the federal, state, and local governments. Upholding your legal responsibilities makes you an attractive landlord and prevents lawsuits that could destroy your investment.
The Fair Housing Act (FHA) is a well-established, landmark piece of federal legislation that everyone looking to lease or sell their property must follow. Its core principle is easy to grasp but upholding the Fair Housing Act regulations requires detailed knowledge of the law.
What’s in the Fair Housing Act, and how do you uphold the law? Here’s what every landlord needs to know.
What’s the Purpose of the Fair Housing Act Regulations?
The Fair Housing Act (FHA) is widely considered part of the broader civil rights movement. Passed in 1964, the FHA falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The Office for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) enforces the act.
Congress’s FHA is wide-sweeping, covering mortgages and rentals.
What do landlords need to know? There are a few fundamental principles that serve as protection for renters.
Landlords Must Not Discriminate Against Renters
The broader purpose of the FHA is to prevent discrimination against renters (as well as buyers and borrowers).
Landlords must remove discriminatory language both from the advertisement and from the decision process. You cannot discriminate based on any federally-protected characteristic, including:
- Age
- Race
- Ethnicity
- Sex
- Gender
- Religion
- Sexual orientation
- Disability
- Familial status
If an investigation finds you discriminated against an applicant or tenant based on one of these protected classes, then you are vulnerable to a lawsuit as well as civil penalties of tens of thousands of dollars.
The FHA doesn’t mean you can’t reject an application. You can find a list of legitimate reasons to reject a tenancy application in this post.
Landlords Have an Obligation to Make Reasonable Accommodations
You have an obligation to make reasonable accommodations, at your expense, to make it possible for a person with a disability to live in the housing. It covers disabilities including but not limited to:
- Limited mobility
- Limited sight
- Limited hearing
However, it also covers cognitive disabilities as well as invisible disabilities.
This applies to any existing tenants as well. If a tenant becomes disabled while living in your property, you must make reasonable accommodations to allow them to stay in the property comfortably. You cannot evict a tenant who requires reasonable accommodations, nor can you raise the rent to cover the costs or harass or threaten the tenant.
For example, you cannot deny an application because a tenant has an assistance animal, nor can you stall approving an application for an assistance animal. You also cannot evict them if they require an assistance animal during their tenancy. Finally, you cannot charge them additional fees based on their use of an assistance animal (e.g., pet rent, deposit, upfront cleaning fees). Keep in mind that the rule also applies to Emotional Support Animals.
You can find more on what it means to make reasonable accommodations on this page.
Are There Exemptions to the FHA?
There can be exemptions from the FHA, but these include very limited circumstances and don’t always apply to the property type.
- Accommodation at private clubs or organizations (such as religious organizations)
- Owner-occupied properties with no more than four units
- Single-family homes rented by the owner
Some of the better examples apply to housing catering to older people. HUD can allow those developments to discriminate if HUD determines the property is designed for those 62 years of age and older, and the property is at least 80% occupied by people 62 and over.
However, in no circumstances is any property allowed to discriminate based on race. There are no exemptions to race-based discrimination. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 doesn’t allow for discrimination based on race in any sale or rental of property.
Keep in mind that even if your property doesn’t fall under the umbrella of the federal FHA, California state or local fair housing regulations may still apply.
How to Uphold the FHA as a Landlord
What do these regulations mean in day-to-day practice? Let’s break the issue down according to the stages of the rental process.
Remember that violating the FHA can trigger an investigation by your local fair-housing agency, so it is essential that you follow the regulations from the beginning of the rental process until the end of the contract.
Advertising Your Unit
The FHA kicks in at the beginning of the rental process, starting with your rental listing.
Your listing and advertisements must be free of any discriminatory language. Your advertisement may not state who can or can’t rent the property. For example, you can’t say “no families” or “no Catholics.” These are clear violations of the FHA, and if flagged, can trigger civil penalties and a lawsuit.
Processing Applications for Your Unit
When you process applications, you may only approve or deny applications based on legitimate circumstances. You cannot reject an application based on a protected reason.
Maintaining Your Unit
Maintaining your unit under the FHA means making reasonable accommodations or allow reasonable modifications, as well as providing a safe place to live in general. The FHA bars landlords from offering inferior conditions based on the tenant’s protected status.
You also cannot retaliate against a tenant for filing a complaint.
Ending a Tenancy
When ending a tenancy, you must do so within the confines of California law. For example, you cannot end a tenancy because a tenant had a baby. Doing so is a violation of the federal FHA.
For a Safe and Legal Tenancy, Follow the FHA
The Fair Housing Act regulations are one of many laws impacting landlords. Some aspects seem like common sense, but all exist to carve out rights for all Americans and ensure fair access to housing. Respecting the FHA adds value to your property and protects your reputation as a landlord. Failing to do so can cost you far more than you believe, and it will put your property at risk.
Are you looking for help in ensuring your next lease is a successful and mutually beneficial one? Get in touch to learn more about the value of professional property management.
