DISCRIMINATION

Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants Under the Federal Fair Housing Act

This material was excerpted from the book RentWise! published by the Office of Neighborhood Services City of Chattanooga

DISCRIMINATION: WHAT IT IS . . . AND ISN'T!

The word "discrimination" is commonly misunderstood. Under the federal Fair Housing Act, a landlord can be said to be "discriminating" only when he/she treats people differently or unfairly because of their race, sex, mental or physical disability, religion, nationality, or because there are children in the family (or pregnancy). These are considered the "protected classes" under the law.

Some tenants feel "discriminated against" when the landlord won't allow smokers, unmarried couples, people under age 21, or when he refuses to rent because of sexual preference or bankruptcy. None of these categories are protected by the Fair Housing Act, and the landlord may therefore set his own policy as long as he applies it equally to every applicant.

Landlords are not discriminating when they require that you meet the following standards, as long as the standards are applied to everyone, and are not used to screen out people in the protected classes.

YOUR LANDLORD CAN LEGALLY EXPECT YOU TO:

• Be employed and earn a certain amount (usually 3 or 4 times the rent per month).

• Have good references from past landlords regarding rent payment and damage.

• Have a good credit report showing no bankruptcies or evictions.

• House no more than 2 people per bedroom.

• Be 21 or older.

• Not have a criminal record or a history of threatening the safety or health of others.

LANDLORDS MAY BE DISCRIMINATING IF THEY:

• Advertise with wording that puts limits on any protected classes.

• Use different acceptance standards based on race, sex, nationality, handicap, religion, children in the family, or because a couple is bi-racial.

• Refuse to talk or deal with an applicant after advertising a vacancy.

• Deny that a unit is available for rent when it really is.

• Provide fewer services to one of the protected classes, or impose more restrictive rules, or less favorable rental terms or conditions.

• Use delaying tactics, burdensome procedures or manipulate waiting lists to unfairly affect opportunity.

• Steer home-seekers to or from certain rentals because of children, race, handicap, or other protected category.

• Refuse to let a disabled tenant make reasonable modifications to the unit (at tenant's expense) when those changes are necessary for full enjoyment of the premises.

• Refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules and policies which could afford a disabled person equal opportunity to use and enjoy the dwelling.

• Harass a tenant in a gender-defined context; or commit acts intended to "coerce or intimidate" one of the protected classes (including women); or "create on-going interference" with a tenant's peaceful enjoyment of the premises.

• Refuse to rent based on the number or ages of children (although the landlord may restrict family size to 2 per bedroom).

EXCEPTIONS:

Landlords are exempted from provisions in the Fair Housing Act in the following situations: when the landlord owns and manages not more than three single-family houses; when the dwelling has not more than four independent units and the owner lives on the premises; when rental units are operated by religious organizations or by private clubs such as sororities; when the building is designed specifically for elderly persons.

WHAT RENTERS CAN DO:

If you feel that a landlord broke one of the provisions of the Fair Housing Act you may want to file a discrimination complaint and have it investigated. If the landlord can easily show that you failed to meet qualifying standards, you'll be wasting your time; however, if his "pattern and practices" are truly discriminatory, things probably won't change without pressure from you and the courts.

Keep documentation including dated ads, copies of applications and correspondence, a diary of calls and conversations (especially with regard to reason for refusal).

Get witnesses to conversations, vacancy signs, missed appointments, etc.

Have a friend inquire about the apartment to see if it's still available. "Testing" is legal, even though the tester must often assume another identity and pretend to be house-hunting.

File a complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (within a year) or the Tennessee Human Rights Commission (within 180 days), or consult a private civil rights attorney. Actual and punitive damages may be awarded. The sooner you file, the easier it will be to track the facts of the case.