How should the agent respond?
- AAnswer truthfully, because Georgia requires truthful answers to direct questions
- BSay yes, because it is a material fact
- CDecline to answer, because answering could violate fair housing law
- DSay no, to protect the tenant's privacy
Pick an answer before you read on.
Answer: C
Decline to answer, because answering could violate fair housing law. Section 44-1-16 protects against a claim for not disclosing an occupant's disease when medical evidence shows it is highly unlikely to spread through occupancy. Its direct-question rule has an express exception where answering would violate federal or state law, including fair housing law. HUD's regulation at 24 CFR § 100.201 includes HIV infection in its disability definition. Declining to discuss the past tenant's medical history is the best response here. The agent also has only a rumor, not established knowledge of a diagnosis.
Why each choice is right or wrong
A. Answer truthfully, because Georgia requires truthful answers to direct questions
The direct-question provision has an express exception where answering would violate another law. It cannot be read without the fair housing limitation.
B. Say yes, because it is a material fact
A past occupant's HIV status is not a physical defect in the home. HUD's disability definition includes HIV infection; it is not an ordinary property disclosure.
C. Decline to answer, because answering could violate fair housing lawCorrect answer
Declining is the best response. It respects the fair housing exception and avoids turning a rumor about a protected medical condition into a sales representation.
D. Say no, to protect the tenant's privacy
Privacy does not justify an invented denial. The agent can decline to discuss an occupant's medical history without claiming to know that the rumor is false.
The trap
Do not apply the truthful-answer rule without its legal exception. Nor should the agent turn hearsay into a confirmed diagnosis or invent a denial. A simple response is, "I don't discuss occupants' private medical information."
The Rule
Do not answer questions about an occupant's HIV status. Decline, do not lie.
What would change the answer
- If the question is about a death in the home, the agent must answer truthfully, as in the related question.
- If the buyer asks about a known hidden physical defect in the home, apply the property-disclosure rule instead. Private medical history and a defect in the building are different facts.
Where the rule comes from
- O.C.G.A. § 44-1-16, Disclosure of an occupant's disease or a death at the property. No lawsuit arises against an owner, broker, or affiliated licensee for failing to disclose that a property was occupied by someone with a disease highly unlikely to spread through occupancy, or was the site of a homicide, other felony, suicide, or accidental or natural death, but each must answer a direct question truthfully to the best of their knowledge unless answering would violate fair housing or other law.
- 24 CFR § 100.201, HUD fair housing disability definition. Includes HIV infection among the covered impairments. Read it with Georgia’s exception for answers that would violate fair housing law.
This is an original teaching question written from the statute. It is not a PSI exam item, and it is not copied or reconstructed from one. On the exam, BRRETA sits inside the Georgia agency and listing content. The BRRETA guide covers the client and customer table and the dual and designated agency rules in one place.