CIVIL RIGHTS OF 1866
Federal law that prohibits racial discrimination in the sale and rental of property.
FEDERAL FAIR HOUSING ACT 1968
The federal law that prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin. Amended in 1988 to include persons with physical and mental disabilities, and those with children under 18.
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PROTECTED CLASSES
Groups of individuals who have been found to be in need of protection by federal, state, or local laws and regulations against discriminatory actions or conditions. Protection of the handicapped extends to those with hearing, mobility, and visual impairme
DISABLED
Landlords must make reasonable accommodations for the disabled, for example, allowing a guide dog in a no-pets building or setting aside easy-access parking for a handicapped tenant.
SENIOR
Housing developments intended for older persons may exclude children if such developments are occupied solely by persons 62 and older�or if 80 percent of the units are occupied by at least one person 55 or older and there are policies and procedures publi
PROHIBITED ACTS
Refusing to sell, rent, or negotiate with any person, or otherwise making a dwelling unavailable to any person.
Changing terms, conditions, or services for different individuals as a means of discrimination.
Practicing discrimination through any statement
STEER
The illegal practice of channeling home seekers to particular areas for discriminatory ends.
BLOCKBUSTING
The illegal practice of inducing homeowners to sell their property by making representations regarding the entry or prospective entry of minority persons into the neighborhood.
REDLINING
The illegal practice of a lending institution denying loans or restricting their number for certain areas of a community.
EXEMPTIONS TO THE FEDERAL FAIR HOUSING ACT
The sale or rental of a single-family home is exempted when the home is owned by an individual who does not own more than three such homes at one time and when the following conditions exist: (a) a broker, salesperson, or agent is not used; and (b) advert
RACE, COLOR NATIONAL ORIGIN
Real estate advertisements should state no discriminatory preference or limitation on account of race, color, or national origin. Use of words describing the housing, the current or potential residents, or the neighbors or neighborhood in racial or ethnic
RELIGION
Advertisements should not contain an explicit preference, limitation, or discrimination on account of religion (e.g., no Jews, Christian home)
SEX
Advertisements for single-family dwellings or separate units in a multifamily dwelling should contain no explicit preference, limitation, or discrimination based on sex.
HANDICAP
Real estate advertisements should not contain explicit exclusions, limitations, or other indications of discrimination based on handicap (e.g., no wheelchairs).
FAMILIAL STATUS
Advertisements may not state an explicit preference, limitation, or discrimination based on familial status.
JONES VS MAYER
The second significant fair housing development of 1968 was the Supreme Court decision in the case of Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Company. In its ruling, the court held that the Civil Rights Act of 1866 "prohibits all racial discrimination, private or public
BROWN VS BOARD OF EDUCATION
In 1954, under this case, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a previous ruling on Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). Separate facilities (previously decided as legally acceptable) were ruled to be unequal.
EQUAL HOUSING POSTER
An equal housing opportunity poster can be obtained from HUD. Displayed in a broker's office, it informs the public about fair housing laws and shows the firm's intention to comply. Displaying the poster is not a legal requirement, but when HUD investigat
NON SOLICITATION ORDER
A directive to all real estate brokers and real estate salespersons to refrain from soliciting listings for the sale of residential property within a designated geographic area. The types of solicitation that are prohibited include but are not limited to
FILTERING DOWN
The process by which housing units formerly occupied by middle- and upper-income families decline in quality and value and become available to lower-income occupants.
ENFORCEMENT
The administrative judge has the authority to issue an injunction (court order). This would order the offender to do something (rent to the complaining party, for example) or to refrain from doing something. In addition, penalties can be imposed, ranging
THREATS OR ACTS OF VIOLENCE
The federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 contains provisions protecting the rights of those who seek the benefits of the open housing law as well as the rights of owners, brokers, or salespersons who assist them. Threats and intimidation should be reported im
AMERICAN DISABILITIES ACT
Federal law requiring reasonable accommodations and accessibility to goods and services for persons with disabilities.
NEW YORK HUMANS RIGHT LAW -Article 15, Executive Law
State law prohibiting discrimination in housing
CEASE AND DESIST ORDER
A prohibition against brokers' canvassing for listings, either from certain individual homeowners or in certain areas.
NEW YORK HUMANS RIGHT LAW
Agency with which a complaint of housing discrimination may file a complaint within one year of the alleged act.
EXECUTIVE LAW -NY HUMANS RIGHT LAW
New York statutes broaden the nondiscrimination rules to cover commercial real estate. They also add several other categories in which discrimination is prohibited, including age, sexual orientation, military status, and marital status. The age provisions
REAL PROPERTY LAW
New York law governing the real estate profession, including prohibitions against discrimination in housing.
forbids denial of rental housing because of children or an eviction because of a tenant's pregnancy or new child. The rules extend to mobile homes
EXCEPTIONS TO NYS HUMANS RIGHTS LAW
public housing that may be aimed at one specific age group,
restriction of all rooms rented to members of the same sex,
rental of a room in one's own home, and
restriction of rentals to persons 55 years of age or older.
Although an owner sometimes may dis
LOCAL REGULATIONS
Local governments may add other groups to the list of protected categories. The New York City Human Rights Commission has adopted the standard of domestic partner (an unmarried adult person who can prove emotional and financial commitment and interdepende
CODE OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
Professional standard of conduct for fair housing compliance, promulgated by the National Association of REALTORS (NAR).
The National Association of REALTORS� has a voluntary cooperative agreement with HUD. This agreement, called the Fair Housing Partners
IMPLICATIONS FOR BROKERS AND SALESPERSONS 1
Include the fair housing logo and/or slogan in all display ads and all classified ads of six column inches or more
Prominently display the fair housing logo and/or slogan in all brochures, circulars, billboards, signs, and direct mail advertising, as well
IMPLICATIONS FOR BROKERS AND SALESPERSONS 2
Make fair housing information readily available to salespeople and employees, and encourage them to become familiar with it and to attend fair housing education programs
Directly inform salespeople and employees of their responsibilities under the fair ho
IMPLICATIONS FOR BROKERS AND SALESPERSONS 3
National Association of REALTORS� suggests posting a sign stating that it is against company policy as well as state and federal laws to offer any information on the racial, ethnic, or religious composition of a neighborhood or to place restrictions on li
IMPLICATIONS FOR BROKERS AND SALESPERSONS 4
brokers must have some system for monitoring the activities of salespeople in regard to fair housing compliance. One way to do this is through a record-keeping system that requires that salespeople keep a record of all prospects, including the prospects'
IMPLICATIONS FOR A BROKER AND SALESPERSONS 5
eal estate offices are visited by testers or checkers, undercover investigators who want to see whether all customers and clients are being treated with the same cordiality and are being offered the same free choice within a given price range. For example
REVERSE DISCRIMINATION
Housing discrimination, usually based on quotas, designed by a municipality to achieve a racial balance perceived as desirable.
TESTERS
Members of civil rights and neighborhood organizations, often volunteers, who observe real estate offices to assess compliance with fair housing laws.
IMPLICATIONS FOR BROKERS AND SALESPERSONS
When a broker is charged with discrimination, it is no defense that the offense was unintentional or the broker did not know the law. Citing past service to members of the same minority group is of little value.
these practices include careful record keep