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Guidelines Regarding Advertisements Under Sec. 804(c) of the Fair Housing Act.

From: Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, D.C., on the acceptance and investigation of allegations of discrimination under Section 804(c) of the Fair Housing Act (the Act) involving the publication of real estate advertisements.

Race, color, national origin
Religion
Sex
Handicap
Familial Status
Unacceptable words in Real Estate Advertising
Housing For Older Persons Act of 1995
License Liability

1. Race, color, national origin

a. Real Estate advertisements should state no discriminatory preference or limitation on account of race, color or national origin;

b. Use of words describing the housing, the current or potential residents or the neighbors or neighborhood in racial or ethnic terms (i.e., white family home, no Irish) will create liability under this section:

1. However, advertisements which are facially neutral will not create liability,

2. Thus, complaints over use of phrases such as "master bedroom", "rare find" or "desirable neighborhood" should not be filed.

2. Religion

a. Advertisements should not contain an explicit preference, limitation or discrimination on account of religion (i.e., no Jews, Christian home);

b. Advertisements which use the legal name of an entity which contains a religious reference (i.e., Roselawn Catholic Home) or symbol (such as a cross), standing alone, may indicate a religious preference:

1. However, if such an advertisement included a disclaimer (such as the statement "This home does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, handicap or familial status"), it will not violate the Act,

2. Advertisements containing description of properties ("apartment complex with chapel") or services ("kosher meals available") do not on their face state a preference for persons likely to make use of those facilities, and are not violations of the Act.

3. Sex

a. Advertisements for single family dwellings or separate units in a multi-family dwelling should contain no explicit preference, limitation or discrimination based on sex;

b. Use of the term "master bedroom" does not constitute a violation of either the sex or race discrimination provisions;

c. Terms such as "mother-in-law suite" and "bachelor apartment" are commonly used as physical descriptions of housing units and do not violate the Act.

4. Handicap

a. Real Estate advertisements should not contain explicit exclusions, limitations or other indications of discrimination based on handicap (i.e., no wheelchairs).

b. Advertisements containing descriptions of properties ("great view", "fourth floor walk-up", "walk-in closets"), services or facilities (jogging trails) or neighborhoods (walk to bus stop) do not violate the Act.

c. Advertisements describing the conduct required of residents ("non-smoking", "sober", etc.) do not violate the Act.

d. Advertisements containing descriptions of accessibility features are lawful ("wheelchair ramp").

5. Familial Status

a. Advertisements may not state an explicit preference, limitation or discrimination based on familial status;

b. Advertisements may not contain limitations on the number and/or ages of children, nor state a preference for adults, couples or singles;

c. Advertisements describing the properties ("two bedroom", "cozy", "family room"), services and facilities ("no bicycles allowed") or neighborhoods ("quiet streets") are not facially discriminatory and do not violate the Act.

Unacceptable words in Real Estate Advertising

Facts: A conciliation agreement has been entered into between HUD, the Fair Housing Council of Oregon and the Portland Metropolitan Area Boards and Association of REALTORS Multiple Listing Service, Inc. (RMLS) in connection with the discovery of words in the RMLS database that potentially violated the Fair Housing Act.

Results: The settlement provides that RMLS will:

a. pay HUD $20,000;

b. give HUD $5,000 worth of advertising in its MLS publication, to be used to educate RMLS members on the rights and/or obligations under the Fair Housing Act and to inform the members of the Fair Housing Training opportunities;

c. contribute $5,000 to the Community Action Organization of Washington County to be used for fair housing training.

Additional Results:

a. RMLS also agreed to develop a general policy, including guidance for preparing listings within the RMLS computer system and its publication;

b. This written policy shall require that RMLS staff conduct a computerized search of the "Remarks" sections of all active listings within the system not more than one business day before the cutoff for the bi-weekly publication;

c. The searches shall be designed to detect any of the words or phrases that the parties have agreed RMLS shall not use, and any such words detected in listings by the searches shall be deleted immediately, with notification to any brokers whose listings contain such words.

Prohibited Words: The following list of prohibited words was the product of a negotiated settlement and not a ruling by a court or HUD. Words not appearing on this list could be used to discriminate. Conversely, words appearing on the list will not always violate the law.

Housing For Older Persons Act of 1995 - Fair Housing Act Amendment

The 1995 amendment to the Federal Fair Housing Act (signed December 28,1995) clarifies which housing projects qualify for "55 and over" status and, therefore, are exempt from provisions of the Fair Housing Act that prohibit discrimination against families with children.

1. The amended law ends the "significant facilities and services" requirement for the "55 and over" class of elderly housing - housing intended and operated for occupancy by persons 55 or older. The provision in the old law, which went into effect in 1988,said that "55 and over" housing had to provide "significant facilities and services to meet the physical or social needs of older persons".

2. Requirements:a. To qualify for the exemption to the prohibitions against familial status discrimination, the complex must:

1. be occupied solely by persons 62 years of age or older;2.have at least one person 55 or older in 80% of its units;3. state specifically that the housing is intended for older persons;

4. consistently follow such policies.

3. The change makes it easier for projects with large numbers of elderly residents to meet the "55 and over" requirement, and also makes it easier for them to exclude buyers or renters who have young children.

4. License Liability:

1. The new law is expected to help protect real estate licensees:

a. from being sued in cases in which they, in good faith, act on the written word of a housing association that a project qualified for the "55 and over" exemption to the familial status anti discrimination provisions;

b. by providing licensees with a defense against monetary damages should it later be determined that a facility is not eligible for the exemption.

2. Real Estate Licensees should not be held liable if they:

a. ensure that the facility states in writing that it complies with the requirements of the "55 and over" exemption, and

b. can show that they did not know the facility was not eligible for the exemption.

3. The Act specifically limits the liability of a "person".

a.  The Act does not address whether a "person" includes a Real Estate firm, or whether the limitation of liability would extend to a firm;

b.  It is unknown what potential liability a Real Estate firm might face, or whether it could be held vicariously liable in connection with its sales associates' and brokers' violations in such situations.