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From deep rooted American ideals of equal rights for all, protective measures have been put into place aimed at preventing discrimination against protected classes of people. Through civil rights legislation and court rulings, ‘fair housing’ has been an issue at the center of this positive evolvement designed to strengthen a community as it grows.
The moral and economic state of affairs which divided the union states and embroiled the country into a four year battle, the American Civil War ultimately led the federal government to amend the U.S. Constitution. Amid the resulting impact was the first law which actually defined citizenship and affirmed that all citizens were equally protected under the law – The Civil Rights Act of 1866.
The legislation was designed to protect the freedoms fought for. It stated that black citizens (generally of African descent at that time) had the same rights as white citizens to make and enforce contracts, to sue and be sued, to give evidence in court; and to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property.
As continuing segregation plagued the country with unfair practices and treatment of non-white citizens and residents some 100 years later; even as African Americans and Hispanic soldiers fought and died in several wars, the need for new legislation was apparent. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 addressed employment and segregation in public places.
The Supreme Court case Jones v. Mayer in 1968, reinforced without exception that discrimination based on race is illegal. The resulting ruling decried negative bias involving ancestral decent; and ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and physical characteristics. Today, the landmark case continues to preserve the rights of protected classes through equal opportunity and fair housing laws.
The Federal Fair Housing Act – officially titled the Civil Rights Act of 1968, expanded the original Act; and Title VIII stated that discrimination in the showing, negotiation, sale, rental or financing of a dwelling, is prohibited based on race, skin color, religion, or national origin.
Limited exclusionary factors within the Act exempts a single family home sold or rented by the owner without the services of an agent; housing operated by a religious organization or private club; or an owner-occupied dwelling with not more than four units. For instance, a non-represented homeowner that lives in the house and rents out rooms has the right to choose to not rent to a person that they feel could create an unsettling situation to the current boarders.
Developing clarification generated the Housing and Community Development Act (1974) that banned discrimination based on gender. Some states are amending these laws with regard to transgender individuals.
The Fair Housing Amendment Act of 1988 addressed discrimination of disability and family status and the presence of children. In other words, a Property Manager cannot reject a rental application by a single woman that happens to be pregnant, or ask a married couple if they are planning on having more children.
Unless the cost of architectural revisions creates a financial hardship to a housing provider, under the revised regulations all rental property owners were expected to make their properties accessible to the handicapped. This included but was not limited to making doorways wider, building ramps that wheel chairs could traverse, and refitting elevators with raised-letter, braille panels for the blind. Reasonable modifications may also be made by a tenant when the cost to reverse the changes at the end of the lease is paid for by the tenant.
Guide or Seeing Eye® dogs also became legally permissible when pet ownership was otherwise not an option. A Service Animal is an individually trained dog which performs specific tasks by definition of Title II and Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The definition of ‘disability’ was amended in 2008, as well as the introduction of language that addressed emotional support or comfort animals that can be present alongside their owners in places of public accommodation.
Similar in content to the Federal law, the Florida Fair Housing Act has provisions for a facility or community to be occupied solely by people aged 62 or older, and for communities where at least 80 percent of the units are inhabited by at least one person aged 55 or over.
Real Estate brokerages and their agents are held to a high standard of professionalism through licensing and laws that govern the state. It’s good practice to treat all consumers with the same respect, honesty and fair dealings. All agents are required to continue their education which keeps them abreast of recent changes to laws involving real estate.
