What is illegal under the Fair Housing Act?

It is unlawful to take any of the following actions upon race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability (physical or mental) or familial status (when there are children under 18 and/or pregnant women):

 Refuse to rent or sell housing
   

 Refuse to negotiate for housing
   

 Falsely deny that housing is available

 Provide different conditions, privileges, or services for the sale, rental,
  financing, or insuring of housing
   

 For profit, persuade someone to sell or rent their home under the
  market value because of the racial or ethnic change in the make up of
  the neighborhood. This is called blockbusting.
   

 Deny access to or membership in a facility or service related to the sale
  or rental of housing
   

 Refuse to make a mortgage loan
   

 Refuse to offer loan information
   

 Discriminate in property appraisals
   

 Deny property insurance
   

 Show apartments or homes in certain neighborhoods only. This is
  called steering.
   

 Fail to design and construct housing in an accessible manner

Additional Protection under the Fair Housing Act

It is also illegal to:

 Advertise or make any statement that indicates a preference or limitation
  based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or
  disability. For example: Advertisement may not say "Christians preferred" or
  "no children allowed".
   
Threaten, force, intimidate, or interfere with anyone exercising a fair
  housing right or assisting others who exercise that right

Additional Protection for people with Disabilities

It is illegal to:

 Refuse to let people with disabilities makereasonable modifications to
  the dwelling or common use areas at their own expense. Landlords
  may require the tenants to restore the property to its original conditions
  when the tenant moves.
   

Refuse to make any reasonable accommodations to rules, regulations,

and policies when needed, i.e. a person with a visual impairment may

 

keep a guide dog regardless of a 'no pets' policy, because the dog is a

service animal not a pet.

Additional Protection for Families with Children

Unless a building or community qualifies as housing for older persons, it may not discriminate based on familial status. That is, it may not discriminate against families in which one or more children under 18 live with:

 A parent
   

 A person who has legal custody of a child or children, or
   

 The designee of the parent or legal custodian,  with the parent or
  custodian's written permission.
   

 Familial Status protection also applies to pregnant women and anyone
  who has, or obtains, custody of a child under age 18.

Exemptions: Housing for older persons is exempt from the prohibition against familial status discrimination if:

 It is specifically designed for and occupied by elderly persons under a
  Federal, State or local government program, or
   

 It is occupied solely by persons who are 62 years of age or older, or
   

 It houses at least one person who is 55 or older in at least 80 percent of
  the occupied units and adheres to a policy statement that demonstrates
  an intent to house persons who are 55 or older.