THE FAIR HOUSING ACT

The Fair Housing Act prohibits the denial of housing to a person based on the person's membership in one or more of the classes protected under the Act. The Protected classes are:

• Race or color
• National Origin
• Religion
• Sex
• Familial status (including children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians; pregnant women and people securing custody of children under 18)
• Disability

It is therefore illegal to discriminate against a person in the provision of housing because of a person's membership in a protected class in the following situations:

• the sale or rental of housing;
• the terms, conditions, privileges of sale or rental, or provision of services or facilities in connection with the sale or rental of most housing;
• the advertising of a sale or rental of housing;
• the representation of the availability of housing for rental or sale;
• the provision of reasonable modifications to a dwelling for persons with a disability at their expense when necessary for the full use and enjoyment of the dwelling;
• the provision of reasonable accommodations to the rules, policies, practices, or services related to a dwelling when necessary to provide persons with a disability the equal opportunity to use and enjoy the dwelling;
• the financing or refinancing of housing; and 
• the provision of real estate brokerage services. 

In addition, it is illegal to coerce, intimidate, threaten or interfere with a person seeking to exercise rights under the Fair Housing Act.

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