Laws against Housing Discrimination

1. Landlord - Tenant
2. Discrimination
3. Laws Against Housing Discrimination

Laws Against Housing Discrimination

Federal Law
State Law
What is Prohibited?
Special Provisions for People with Disabilities
Discrimination versus Families with Children
Exemptions to the Fair Housing Act
Enforcement Provisions and Penalties for Violations of the Law

Federal law restricts discrimination in the leasing, sale, marketing and funding of housing on the basis of your race, color, faith, gender, national origin, household status, i.e., pregnancy or having custody of a kid under age 18 or disability. Maryland and much of its local jurisdictions have at least comparable laws, along with extra securities.

The national policy versus housing discrimination is defined in the federal Fair Housing Act of 1968. In addition, there are provisions in the Civil liberty Act of 1866 which the Supreme Court of the United States has actually translated as restricting "all racial discrimination, private along with public, in the sale or rental of residential or commercial property." Unlike the 1968 law, the 1866 law contains no exceptions and no limitation on the amount of damages which can be awarded to a complainant.

Who is Protected?

The federal Fair Housing Act is contained in Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. It was changed in 1974 and once again in 1978. The Fair Housing Act forbids housing discrimination against an individual who falls in any of the following 7 groups. Anyone dealt with unfairly due to the fact that of: race, color, religious beliefs, nationwide origin, sex, households with kids and individuals with disabilities (handicap). These 7 groups are considered "protected classes" under the Act and its amendments. "Protected classes" mean the categories of discrimination that are covered by the law.

Read the Law: The Fair Housing Act of 1968 (42 USC 3601, et seq.)

The courts have said that Maryland's law is "substantially comparable" to the federal law. In two important aspects, Maryland offers more security. First, Maryland broadens on the secured classes of the federal law. You can not be victimized due to the fact that of your marital status, gender recognition, sexual orientation, or source of earnings.

Marital status is specified as "the state of being single, married, apart, separated or widowed." "Sexual orientation" means the recognition of a specific as to male or female homosexuality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality. Gender identity is defined to indicate the gender related identity, appearance, expression, or behavior of a person, despite the person's designated sex at birth. In addition, there is a limitation to the exemption for spaces or units in a dwelling in which the owner inhabits a system as his/her primary residence. In Maryland, these owners may reject somebody based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status. However, they can not discriminate versus someone due to the fact that of his/her race, color, religion, household status, national origin, disability, or source of earnings.

Read the Law: Md. Code, State Government, § 20-101, 20-704, 20-705

Local jurisdictions (such as the counties or towns) likewise secure all of the groups covered by federal and state law and typically include extra classifications such as age (in Baltimore City, 18 or older), sexual orientation, occupation and income. See regional law articles.

The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to commit any of the following acts versus a person who falls within any of the groups secured by the law.

Sale or Rental of Residential Real Estate - Refuse to offer, lease or otherwise make not available or reject any residence; discriminate in the terms or conditions of sale or rental of a dwelling or in the arrangement of services or facilities. (Single sex housing is permitted, as an exception to this prohibition, in situations where sharing of living areas is involved.); or show that housing is not available when, in fact, it is.
Advertising Residential Real Estate - Make, print, release or cause to be made, printed or published, a notification, statement or advertisement associating with the sale or rental of housing that shows a choice, constraint or discrimination.
Block Busting - Persuade or attempt to encourage, for revenue, an individual to offer or lease a home by making representations about the present or future entry into the community of one or more individuals in a protected class.
Loans and Other Financial Assistance - Discriminate in the making or buying of loans or supplying other monetary help.
Brokerage and Appraisal Services - Discriminate in the brokering or appraisal of domestic property.
Participation in Real Estate Organizations - Deny access to, or establish various terms and conditions for, membership or involvement in any numerous listing service, property brokers' organization or other service, company or facility relating to business of offering or leasing of houses.
Intimidation, Coercion and Threats - Intimidate, push, threaten or disrupt a person in among the protected classes in enjoyment of rights provided by the Fair Housing Act.

Special Provisions for People with Disabilities

Definition of Disability

The Fair Housing Act defines special needs (handicap) as a physical or mental problems that substantially limits one or more of an individual's "significant life activities", a record of having such an impairment, or being considered as having such an impairment. The law safeguards both the individual with a special needs and a person dealing with or planning to deal with that individual. It omits people who are unlawfully using or addicted to drugs and other regulated substances.
Special Protections - In addition to offering people with impairments all of the securities versus housing discrimination that are provided to members of the other six secured classes, the list below provisions of the Fair Housing Act provide important additional security.

Read the Law: 42 United States Code § 3602

The prohibition against discriminating in the terms and conditions of sale or leasing, forbids a property owner from asking any concerns of a person with an impairment than would be asked of any other candidate. A landlord might not, for instance, inquire about the nature or seriousness of an individual's special needs or ask whether that individual is capable of living alone.

Reasonable Accommodations

It is illegal to refuse to make such reasonable changes in guidelines, policies, practices and services which may be required to pay for an individual with a special needs an equal chance to delight in and use a dwelling. These "sensible accommodations" consist of such things as making an exception to a "no family pets" policy for an individual who requires a service animal and providing a booked, designated parking location for a person with a mobility impairment.
Reasonable Modifications - It is illegal to decline to permit an individual with a special needs to make, at his/her own cost, such sensible modifications in the facilities as may be necessary to permit use and satisfaction of the premises. "Reasonable adjustments" consist of such things as setting up grab bars to assist in usage of bathroom facilities or the widening of an entrance to accommodate a wheelchair.

Read the Law: 42 United States Code § 3604

Full Accessibility of "New" Multi-Family Housing

Multi-family housing built for first occupancy after March 13, 1991 (i.e. buildings consisting of 4 or more units) must be fully accessible to people with disabilities. Itaf a structure has an elevator, all units must be available; if there is no elevator, only "ground flooring" systems should be available. "Accessible" indicates:

1. There must be an accessible structure entrance on an available path;
2. Public and common usage areas should be readily available to and functional by people with disabilities;
3. All inside doors need to be wide sufficient to accommodate a wheelchair;
4. There must be an available route into and through the house;
5. Light switches, electrical outlets, thermostats and other environmental protections must be accessible;
6. Bathroom walls should be reinforced to permit later on setup of grab bars; and
7. Kitchens and restrooms must have adequate space to allow maneuvering in a wheelchair.

Read the Law: 42 United States Code 3604(F)

Discrimination against Families with Children

Definition of "Familial Status" - As used in the Fair Housing Act, the term "familial status" (frequently called "households with children") refers to a moms and dad or another person having legal custody of one or more people under the age of 18 years. It refers likewise to an individual who is pregnant or in the process of getting legal custody of a minor kid.

Families with children enjoy under the law the very same defense against housing discrimination as other groups secured by the law. In just 2 circumstances, does the law license, as exceptions, discrimination versus families with kids. Both exceptions relate to so-called housing for older persons. Housing meant for and inhabited exclusively by people 62 years of age or older and housing in which 80 percent of the units are planned for and occupied by a minimum of someone who is 55 years of age or older do not need to comply with the law's familial status provisions.

Discrimination against families with children manifests itself in lots of ways, the most common of which are in advertising (e.g. signs that leasings are for "no kids" or "adults only"), limiting tenancy requirements that unreasonably limit the number of children who may occupy a given space, and steering of families with children to different structures or parts of buildings.

Exemptions to the Fair Housing Act

The 4 exemptions to the Fair Housing Act are:

- A single-family house sold or rented by the owner, supplied the owner does not own more than 3 such single family homes at one time and provided also that the sale or rental is not advertised in a discriminatory manner and is done without the services of a genuine estate representative, broker or sales person. If the seller does not reside in the home at the time of the rental or sale, or was not the most recent local at the time of the rental or sale, only one sale of such a single-family house within any 24-month period is exempted.
- Dwelling systems or rooms in a building of 4 or less systems, offered the owner of the structure occupies one of the systems as his residence
- A residence owned or operated by a spiritual company, or by a not-for-profit organization owned or managed by a religious company which limits or provides preference in the sale, rental or tenancy to persons of the same religious beliefs, offered subscription in the faith is not restricted on the basis of race, color or nationwide origin.
- Lodging owned or run by a personal club as an event to its main purpose and not run for a commercial function. Club members may be offered preference, or occupancy may be restricted to members, supplied club membership is open to all without regard to race, color, faith, and so on.

Read the Law: 42 United States Code § 3603, 3604, 3607

Enforcement Provisions and Penalties for Violations of the Law

State Law

The Maryland Commission on Civil Liberty has the duty of enforcing discrimination laws. The Commission will examine accusations of housing discrimination and attempt to deal with the problem. Information on filing a complaint and the investigative procedure are readily available on the Commission's website.

Victims of housing discrimination might also submit a lawsuit with the proper state court.

Read the Law: Md. Code, State Government, § 20-702

Federal Law

HUD Administrative Complaints

An individual who believes that s/he has actually been the victim of housing discrimination might file a composed grievance with the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) within one year after the prejudiced act occurred. The Secretary needs to notify the complainant of the choice of forums for solving the conflict and if the state or local jurisdiction has a public agency certified to handle such grievances, the Secretary must refer the problem to that company.

The Secretary will try to mediate the dispute and reach a conciliation arrangement with the parties. If necessary, the Secretary may ask the Attorney General to seek momentary relief through court action. Under particular conditions, either the aggrieved party or the participant may pick to have actually the dispute heard by an Administrative Law Judge or in federal court. An Administrative Law Judge who finds that a participant has dedicated a prejudiced housing act may enforce a civil penalty of as much as $10,000 for a very first offense, up to $25,000 for a 2nd offense within a five-year period, and as much as $50,000 for a 3rd offense within a seven-year duration. If the disagreement goes to federal court, the Attorney general of the United States will maintain the action on behalf of the aggrieved individual. The aggrieved person might sign up with the action and may be granted reasonable lawyer charges.

Private Lawsuits

A person who believes that s/he has actually been the victim of housing discrimination might file a civil action in the United States District Court or State Court within two years after the discriminatory act happened or ended, or after a conciliation contract was breached, whichever occurs last, even if a complaint had been filed with HUD, offered that an Administrative Law Judge has actually not yet started a hearing. A federal judge might grant whatever relief is necessary, including the award of actual and compensatory damages, lawyer costs and short-lived or permanent injunctions.

The U.S. Attorney general of the United States may intervene in private claims identified to be of general public significance.

Lawsuits in "Pattern or Practice" Cases

The U.S. Chief law officer may start a civil suit in any federal district court if s/he has affordable cause to think that an individual has actually engaged in a "pattern or practice" of housing discrimination.

In any suit brought by the Chief law officer, whether on his/her own effort or by recommendation from the Secretary of HUD, the judge may award whatever relief is appropriate: a temporary or long-term injunction or other order, sensible attorney fees and expenses, cash damages to any aggrieved person and "to vindicate the public interest", a civil penalty of up to $50,000 for the very first infraction and as much as $100,000 for any subsequent infraction.