Quick answer
The federal Fair Housing Act protects race, colour, religion, national origin, sex, familial status and disability. A few narrow exemptions exist, mainly for owner-occupied small buildings and private sales without an agent. Two things survive every exemption: discriminatory advertising is never allowed, and race discrimination is barred outright by the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which has no exemptions at all.
Practice of Real Estate carries 12 percent of the national portion and fair housing is the heaviest part of it. Almost nobody loses marks on the list of protected classes. People lose marks on the scenario where an exemption might apply, because the exemptions are narrower than they look.
The seven classes
Race, colour, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, disability.
Two are worth a second look.
Familial status means households with children under 18, and it also covers pregnant people and anyone in the process of securing custody. It does not mean marital status. A landlord refusing to rent to unmarried couples is not violating the federal Act on familial status grounds, though state or local law may say otherwise.
Disability carries obligations the other classes do not. A landlord must permit reasonable modifications, meaning physical changes, usually at the tenant's expense. A landlord must make reasonable accommodations, meaning changes to rules and policies, at the landlord's expense. A no-pets policy yielding to a service animal is an accommodation, not a modification, and the animal is not a pet for these purposes.
The prohibited acts
Refusing to sell or rent, setting different terms, false statements about availability, and the three named practices:
- Steering. Directing people toward or away from areas based on a protected class. It can happen through helpfulness. An agent who only shows a family with children the neighbourhoods with playgrounds is steering.
- Blockbusting. Inducing sales by suggesting a protected class is moving in and values will fall. Also called panic selling.
- Redlining. Refusing loans or insurance in an area based on its composition.
Exam trap
Steering rarely appears in a question as open hostility. It appears as an agent trying to be helpful, matching people to where they will "feel comfortable". The intention is irrelevant. Give the same information to everyone and let them choose.
The exemptions, and how narrow they are
The Mrs. Murphy exemption. An owner-occupied building of four units or fewer may discriminate in renting the other units, but only if no broker is used and no discriminatory advertising appears.
Single-family homes sold or rented by the owner. Permitted if the owner does not use a broker, does not use discriminatory advertising, and owns no more than three such homes. If the owner does not live in the property, the exemption applies to only one sale in any 24-month period.
Religious organisations and private clubs. May limit occupancy in property they own and operate for non-commercial purposes to their own members, provided membership is not itself restricted by race, colour or national origin.
Housing for older persons. May exclude children if it qualifies, either as 62 and over, or as 55 and over with at least 80 percent of units having a resident aged 55 or more and a published policy demonstrating the intent.
Now the part the exam is actually testing:
The rule
The moment a real estate licensee is involved, the exemption is gone. Every one of these depends on the owner acting without an agent. An agent who accepts a discriminatory instruction from an otherwise exempt owner has violated the Act personally.
And discriminatory advertising is prohibited in all cases, exempt or not. There is no version of these rules where the advertisement may state a preference.
The 1866 Act, which changes the answer
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 bars all racial discrimination in the sale or rental of real and personal property. The Supreme Court confirmed in Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co. that it applies to private conduct, and it has no exemptions.
This is why a question can describe a perfect Mrs. Murphy scenario and still have a violation in it. If the discrimination was based on race, the 1866 Act reaches it regardless of the Fair Housing Act exemption.
Georgia has its own Fair Housing Act, administered by the state, which mirrors the federal protections. A Georgia licensee is answerable under federal law, state law, and the Georgia Real Estate Commission's own rules, so a fair housing violation is three problems rather than one. The duty to deal honestly with everyone in the transaction runs alongside this, and the agency guide covers where it comes from.
The glossary entry for steering has the specific way the exam phrases it, and the trap library collects the distractors this topic generates.
Check yourself
1. An owner lives in one unit of a three-unit building she owns and rents the other two herself, with no agent and no advertising. She refuses to rent to an applicant because of the applicant's religion. Is this lawful under federal law?
Show the answer
Answer: B. The Mrs. Murphy exemption covers owner-occupied buildings of four units or fewer where no broker is used and no discriminatory advertising appears. Note that if the refusal had been based on race, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 would still reach it.
2. Which act remains prohibited even when a Fair Housing Act exemption applies?
Show the answer
Answer: B. Discriminatory advertising is prohibited in every case. The exemptions never extend to what the advertisement may say.
3. An agent shows a Hispanic couple homes only in neighbourhoods with a large Hispanic population, believing they will prefer it. What has the agent done?
Show the answer
Answer: C. Directing buyers toward areas based on a protected class is steering, and a good motive does not change it.
4. A tenant who uses a wheelchair asks the landlord for permission to install a ramp at the tenant's own cost, and asks for an assigned parking space near the entrance. How are these treated?
Show the answer
Answer: C. A physical change to the property is a modification, usually at the tenant's expense. A change to rules or policies, such as assigning a parking space, is an accommodation.
FAQ
Does the Fair Housing Act cover sexual orientation and gender identity?
HUD enforces the Act's prohibition on sex discrimination as covering sexual orientation and gender identity. Treat discrimination on those grounds as prohibited, and note that many state and local laws address them directly.
Is age a protected class?
Not under the federal Fair Housing Act. Familial status protects households with children, and housing for older persons is an exemption rather than a protection. Some state and local laws add age.
Can a landlord ask whether an applicant has a disability?
No. A landlord may ask whether an applicant can meet the requirements of tenancy, but not about the existence or severity of a disability, and not for medical records.
Who enforces fair housing in Georgia?
HUD enforces federal law. Georgia has its own fair housing law and its own enforcement, and a licensee who violates either is also answerable to the Georgia Real Estate Commission under its licence law.