Landlords must treat all rental tenants equally. However, you may encounter a landlord or rental owner discriminating against you or someone else. Whether they refuse to rent to you based on age or race or refuse to make reasonable accommodations, rental discrimination is illegal. To learn more about rental discrimination and what to do if you experience it, read along as we review everything you need to know.
Contents of This Article:
- What Is Rental Discrimination?
- Signs You’re Being Discriminated Against
- Steps to Take if You Experience Discrimination
- Consequences for Rental Discrimination
- Ensure Compliance In Your Rentals With BMG
What Is Rental Discrimination?
Whether you’re a landlord, tenant, or Philadelphia property manager, it’s crucial to recognize the business impacts of rental discrimination. In addition, being discriminatory toward potential tenants is illegal and can result in major lawsuits.
Rental discrimination occurs when landlords treat potential tenants differently based on certain characteristics. For instance, it’s considered discrimination if a landlord treats or behaves differently toward renters based on race, color, religion, and other protected classes.
Examples of rental discrimination include:
- Charging higher fees to tenants with children.
- Falsely denying that a rental unit is available for some tenants.
- Refusing to allow a service animal for a disabled tenant.
Knowing the difference between discrimination and valid business practices is essential.
For instance, landlords can select tenants based on valid reasons, like requiring a minimum income or positive references. However, landlords must set the same standards for each rental applicant. Otherwise, it could be considered rental discrimination. Next, we’ll review the Fair Housing Act and what it prohibits for rental housing.
What Is the Fair Housing Act?
In 1968, Congress passed the Fair Housing Act to help prevent housing discrimination. The Fair Housing Act sets guidelines to prevent people from being denied fair and equal treatment while buying or renting real estate.
For instance, the Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination because of the following characteristics:
- Race
- Color
- Religion
- National Origin
- Sex
- Gender Identity
- Sexual Orientation
- Familial Status
- Disability
When it comes to selling or renting real estate, it’s illegal to take any of the following actions based on the above characteristics:
- Refuse to rent or negotiate for housing
- Make housing unavailable
- Set different terms or rates
- Provide different housing services or facilities
- Falsely deny that housing is available for rent
- State or advertise a rental that indicates preference, limitation, or discrimination
- Impose different pricing for some tenants
- Use different qualification criteria for some tenants
- Evict a tenant or their guests
- Harass a tenant or rental applicant
- Limit privileges, services, or facilities
- Discourage the renting of a certain unit
- Assign a person to a particular building, neighborhood, or section of a building
Signs You’re Being Discriminated Against
Rental discrimination can be blatant, but sometimes, it can be challenging to recognize when you’re being discriminated against. However, it’s crucial to know how to protect yourself if you are experiencing discrimination. So, here are some examples of what landlord bias or prejudice can sound like in rental housing.
- Housing advertisements that say “no kids” or “adult applicants only”
- Asking what your religion is before offering a rental unit
- Requiring that you speak English to occupy a particular dwelling
- Offering rentals to married couples only
- Refusing to make reasonable accommodations or modifications for tenants with disabilities
- Offering to lower the rent payment for personal favors
- Steering certain applicants to racially segregated neighborhoods
Steps to Take if You Experience Discrimination
Again, it can be tricky to recognize rental discrimination in some cases. However, if you think you’re being discriminated against, taking the right measures to protect yourself is crucial. So, here’s what to do if you think you’re experiencing rental discrimination.
- File a Federal Complaint
- Get State or Local Assistance
- Know the Laws
File a Federal Complaint
If you’re experiencing rental discrimination, file an administrative complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing Equal Opportunity (FHEO) Office. By law, they’re supposed to investigate claims within 100 days of filing. Additionally, there are a few different ways to submit a claim. For instance, you can either call the Housing Discrimination Hotline at (800) 669-9777, print out a form and mail it, or file a complaint online.
Get State or Local Assistance
If you feel like you’re being discriminated against, the best course of action is to contact your state or local fair housing commission or center. If you need help with whom to contact for assistance, contact the National Fair Housing Alliance in Washington, DC. Additionally, in some states, you can also file complaints with the state Division of Human Rights so they can investigate further.
While filing a federal complaint is an important course of action, seeking local assistance can be more beneficial. So, in states or cities with stricter fair housing standards, you may want to pursue legal action through state or local agencies rather than HUD and federal courts.
Know the Laws
There are a few exceptions to housing discrimination laws, which is important to note if you’re having issues with your landlord. First, the Fair Housing Act exempts owner-occupied properties, often called a “Mrs. Murphy Exemption,” generally occurring when renters are roommates with their landlords.
For instance, if your landlord only allows a single occupant in a bedroom in their home, it’s not considered discrimination. This would be discriminatory against families in a standard rental home, but it’s allowed under the exemption. Other exemptions include housing operated by religious groups or private clubs that limit occupancy to members only.
Consequences for Rental Discrimination
The consequences of rental discrimination are quite significant for landlords. For instance, if a court or housing agency finds that discrimination has taken place, the consequences for landlords may include the following:
- Paying out-of-pocket costs tenants incurred while finding alternative housing solutions
- Non-economic damages for humiliation, mental anguish, or psychological injuries
- Civil penalties of up to $16,000 for a first violation, increasing to $65,000 for third violations
- Civil penalties brought by the Justice Department can be up to $150,000
Victims of housing discrimination can file complaints for up to 1 year after the incident with the HUD or within two years in Federal Court.
Ensure Compliance In Your Rentals With BMG
If you own rental properties and want to avoid rental discrimination at all costs, consider hiring a property management team. Companies like Bay Property Management Group are well-versed in all Fair Housing Laws and will ensure your rentals and processes are compliant from one tenant to the next.
Need More Advice? contact us today!
Additionally, a comprehensive management company can help save you time and effort while handling tenants and rental properties. So if you find yourself spending too much time tending to rentals when you could be growing your business, contact BMG today! We offer comprehensive management services for rentals near Baltimore, Philadelphia, Northern Virginia, and Washington, DC.