We’re Committed to Fair Housing!

As a Realtor®, you play a crucial role in helping consumers find their dream homes. Your job is not only to match clients with properties that best suit their needs but also to ensure that they are treated fairly throughout the process. Discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and national origin is not only illegal, but it's also unethical.

Describe the property, not the potential buyer or tenant. “Ideal for empty nesters” or “perfect for students” raises red flags; “easy walk to train” does not.

This April, Realtors® celebrate the 54th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act with special events that symbolize their recommitment to expanding equal access to housing.

A condo board denied a tenant’s dog that was 30 pounds above their weight limit, but she later got documentation showing it’s an emotional support animal.

The president is launching a first-ever interagency effort to address “home appraisal inequities” and recommend rules to “aggressively combat housing discrimination.”

In 2001, 10% of Realtors® were nonwhite; in 2020, that number rose to 24%, according to a study on career choice released by NAR.

HUD now considers sexual orientation and gender identity to be protected classes under the Fair Housing Act, calling its change “the correct reading of the law.”

A new report from the National Association of Realtors®, “Snapshot of Race & Home Buying in America,” lays emphasis on the continued need for work for racial equality in real estate.

At-risk homeowners can now postpone mortgage payments (via forbearance) for 15 months. Foreclosure and REO-related eviction bans run until March 31.

A detailed look at the Fair Housing Act and the Florida Civil Rights Act, including legal information on "testers" and 55-plus communities.

Lawsuits cost a ton of money even if you prevail, and aggressive lawyers are filing lawsuits against property managers and landlords that ban all rental candidates with a criminal history. It’s not strictly illegal, but a HUD statement says it likely violates the Fair Housing Act.

In the shadow of recent fair housing problems, NAR leadership unanimously agreed to create a program called ACT (Accountability, Culture change and Training). NAR says ACT includes a multi-pronged approach to fair housing that includes Realtor education, law changes and more.

It’s vital to review all advertisements, MLS entries and public-facing messages to make sure they comply with the Fair Housing Act and related laws that exist at all levels – local, state and federal. Realtors have been sued over accidental mistakes in the past