Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act), prevents discrimination in renting, selling, or financing housing based on race, national origin, religion, gender, disability, or the presence of or anticipation of a family. This article, while it does not assume to constitute legal advice, offers highlights of your rights as a renter under the Fair Housing Act.
Before you rent, know how many units are in the building, The Fair Housing Act exempts some owner-occupied buildings with no more than 4 units.
Consider university dorms as a kind of member-operated and member-occupied housing. In this case, the dorms are a kind of private club that limits occupancy to members, and are therefore exempt from some of the restrictions placed on them by the Fair Housing Act.
If you are disabled: Even a building with a strict "no pets" policy must allow you to keep a guide dog, if you need one. The landlord must allow you to make reasonable modifications to your housing at your own expense, if such modifications are necessary in order for you or a disabled person you may be associated with to gain access to the building.
The landlord may not set different terms for you to rent their housing than they can for somebody else. What this means: the lease form you sign should be standard to that unit. If you find out that, for example, the terms of the lease have been adjusted to say, provide for a limited number of occupants in the unit and you're expecting a child, you may be able to seek legal remedy through the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The landlord or property manager may not advertise the property in a way that suggests the discrimination of one group over another. This kind of discriminatory or preferential advertising also applies to owner-occupied buildings with no more than 4 units.
The statute of limitations on housing discrimination is one year. In other words, you have one year to report a violation of the Fair Housing Act to the Department of Housing and Urban Development and still be able to seek legal remedy.
Housing for the elderly is exempt from certain provisions of the Fair Housing Act, provided that it houses at least one person who is 55 or older in 80% of its units, and adheres to a strict policy outlining its intent to be a living facility for the elderly.
The federal office of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) enforces the Fair Housing Act, and is able to help you should you find yourself in a discriminatory housing situation. To seek legal remedy through HUD, you will need to submit a housing discrimination complaint form or write a letter containing the same information as the form, and mail it to HUD.
Lisa Brown is a sales and marketing associate for Shop Corporate Housing. She has been with the company since it launched. ShopCorporateHousing.com is an advertising website that serves the needs of both corporate housing providers and property owners by providing everyone with the opportunity to receive the lead, and for the shopper to receive multiple quotes with the click of a button. ShopCorporateHousing.com offers 16 years of expertise in the field of corporate housing.
