7 Tips To Avoid Breaking Fair Housing Laws

Every American should have an equal opportunity to seek out a place to live without being discriminated against due to race, color, disability, family status, national origin, religion, sex or other factors out of their control. The Fair Housing Act is a law created to prevent discriminatory practices by property managers, landlords, real estate agents and others related to housing. If you’re in the property management or real estate business, you likely have the best of intentions to treat people fairly while providing a much needed housing service. However, unintentionally breaking the law could result in penalties or a costly lawsuit. Here’s some tips to help keep you compliant with Fair Housing Act laws:

1) Know Your Stuff

It’s important to know the federal laws that prohibit discrimination such as the Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act when renting, showing and selling property. Purposely or inadvertently breaking these laws could get you in hot water.

2) Document Applicants

When accepting applications for rental properties, treat all applicants equally. Document that all applicant decisions, whether accepted or rejected, were based on legal screening criteria such as credit history and background checks. That way, if necessary, you can show in court a valid reason(s) why one tenant was chosen over another.

3) Watch Your Wording

Be careful when wording advertising. Innocently describing your ideal tenants such as “perfect for families with kids” could be viewed as discriminatory against people with no children. Go ahead and describe the amenities of a property without mentioning any type of people.

4) Regular Maintenance

Stay up on property inspections and maintenance for all of your tenants on a regular basis. Promptly reply to any urgent repair requests so that you cannot be accused of discrimination by not caring for your tenants needs. Keep documented proof of all inspections and repairs.

5) Careful with Discounts

While it may seem like a nice thought, offering discounts to single students in a university area could be construed as discriminatory against a potential tenant with children. Although it might be tempting to fill vacancies quickly, never offer discounts to just one particular group of people.

6) Vary Your Advertising

Beware of advertising in just one place. If you only advertise through your church bulletin you could be accused of “religious discrimination.” Run your listing on a variety of websites or in the newspaper so you’re not just hitting a select group of people.

7) Evictions Happen

Unfortunately, no matter who you rent to, evictions happen. Removing a tenant from your property requires a legal eviction process. If you don’t follow the process properly, you could end up in court. Knowing your eviction laws up front could avoid these issues.  You should also be careful to treat all tenants equally during the evictions process.

The Fair Housing Act laws can be tricky. Protect your real estate and/or property management business with a good General Liability Insurance Policy. Check out RealShield Insurance to protect the business you’ve worked so hard to build.