Fair Housing Is Everyone's Privilege and Right!

The Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq., prohibits discrimination by direct providers of housing, such as landlords and real estate companies as well as other entities, such as municipalities, banks or other lending institutions and homeowners insurance companies whose discriminatory practices make housing unavailable to persons because of

• Race or Color
• National Origin
• Religion
• Sex
• Familial Status (more)
• Handicap / Disability

When making any posting on Rumates.com, you must comply with section 3604(c) of the Federal Fair Housing Act. This law generally prohibits stating, in any notice or ad for the sale or rental of a dwelling, a discriminatory preference based on any of the above protected categories.

For additional protections and limited exceptions provided by The Fair Housing Act view the following publications:

• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD") and the
  • HUD has also issued additional guidance on advertising, pertaining to roommates.
• Department of Justice.

Visit the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity for your specific state to find additional protected categories, such as sexual orientation, age, marital status, or source of income.

Housing discrimination can be reported by visiting the HUD Web site or calling 1-800-669-9777. You can also report it to a fair housing advocate near you.

If you encounter a roommate posting on Rumates.com that you believe violates the Fair Housing laws, please flag the posting as "prohibited."

Frequently Asked Questions:

What are the laws for roommates and shared housing?
What is familial status?
What constitutes a discriminatory posting?
What are some examples of discriminatory advertisements
What should I do if I find a discriminatory posting?

Federal Fair Housing laws for roommates and shared housing have two components: advertising and decision-making.

• Advertising: Federal Fair Housing laws prohibit discriminatory advertising in all housing, regardless of how large or small the property. However, as discussed below, advertising which expresses a preference based upon sex is allowed in shared living situations where tenants will share a bathroom, kitchen, or other common area.
• Decision-making: Although the prohibition on discriminatory advertising applies to roommate and shared housing situations, federal Fair Housing laws do not cover the basis of decisions made by landowners who own less than four units, and live in one of the units. This means that in a situation in which a landlord owns less than four rental units, and lives in one of the units, it is legal for the owner to discriminate in the selection process based on the aforementioned categories, but it is illegal for that owner to advertise or otherwise make a statement expressing that discriminatory preference.

Exceptions:

Under The Federal Fair Housing law, the prohibition on discriminatory advertisements applies to all situations except the following:

• Shared Housing Exemption -- If you are advertising a shared housing unit, in which tenants will be sharing a bathroom, kitchen, or other common area, you may express a preference based upon sex only.
• Private Club and Religious Exemptions -- A religious community or private club whose membership is not restricted based upon race, color, or national origin may restrict tenancy only to its members in a property that it owns, and may advertise to that effect.
• Housing for Older Persons Exemption -- Certain complexes for elderly persons are exempt from prohibitions on familial status discrimination, including the prohibitions on discriminatory advertising.

"Familial status" means the presence of children under the age of 18.

Unless otherwise exempted, it is illegal to:

• discriminate against families with children
• discourage families with children from renting a unit
• steer families with children to a particular area of an apartment complex
• establish rules, regulations, or policies that discriminate or have a disparate impact on families with children
• discriminate against pregnant women
• discriminate against anyone in process of securing legal custody of a child under age 18

In general, a posting is discriminatory if it expresses a limitation or preference based on one of the protected categories, which may vary depending upon where you reside, but which always include the seven (7) federal categories. State or local laws may protect other categories.

A posting is also discriminatory if it uses language that might be discouraging towards a certain protected category. For instance, saying that a particular apartment is "perfect for a single or couple" could be discouraging towards families with children, who do not fit within the stated groups. Please note that unintentionally discriminatory postings are still illegal.

Lastly, a posting is discriminatory if it uses language that might have a disparate, or disproportional, impact on a certain protected category. For instance, an advertisement for a 2 bedroom unit which states a preference for "2 persons only" might have a disparate impact on families with children because, though it does not explicitly state a preference based on familial status, it creates an overly restrictive occupancy limit which would affect families with children to a greater extent than other types of households. (For more information on reasonable occupancy limits, see HUD's guidance on occupancy standards.)

Although not an exhaustive list, these examples should give you some idea of what might constitute a discriminatory housing advertisement.

1. race / color

• postings stating a preference for the race of a desired applicant (eg. "no blacks," "whites only," etc...)
• postings describing the race of current occupants of the complex or neighborhood (eg. "African-American neighborhood," "most residents are Asian," "lots of Hispanic families," etc...)

• postings stating a preference for the religion of a desired applicant (eg. "Christians only," "no Muslims," etc...)
• postings describing the religion of current occupants of the complex or neighborhood (eg. "nice, Christian neighborhood," "Jewish family seeks roommate," etc...)

• postings stating a preference for a certain national origin (eg. "no immigrants," "no foreigners," "Irish preferred," etc...)
• postings posted only in a language other than English
• postings describing the national origin of current occupants of the complex or neighborhood (eg. "predominately Latino neighborhood," "mostly Asian residents," etc...)

• postings stating a preference for able-bodied tenants (eg. "no wheelchairs," "must be able to live independently," etc...)
• postings describing the complex as unable to accommodate people with disabilities (eg. "units are not accessible", "no pets, even seeing eye dogs", etc...)

• postings stating a clear preference for families without children (eg. "no children," "no kids and no pets," "single occupancy only," etc...)
• postings that could discourage families with children (eg. "ideal for working professionals," "perfect for single or couple," "nice, quiet, mature, neighborhood," etc...)

• postings stating a preference for one sex over another (eg. "no young men," "female preferred," etc...)

* as discussed above, the prohibitions on advertising a preference based upon sex do not apply to shared housing situations.

If you encounter a housing posting on Rumates.com that you believe violates the Fair Housing laws, please flag the posting as "prohibited."

If you are not sure if the posting violates the Fair Housing act, please contact HUD or your local Fair Housing center. If you have made contact with the poster and have been discriminated against based on one of the protected categories, you may file a claim with HUD or your local Fair Housing center as well.

If you have any questions about any of the information on this page, or if you believe any of the information is incorrect or out of date, please give your feedback.