Have you heard of the Fair Housing Act? It protects homebuyers and homeowners from discrimination. To understand more about your rights under the Fair Housing Act, download the Fair Housing summary sheet on this page and read this blog post for further information.
The Fair Housing Act protects against housing discrimination for “protected classes,” which are specific groups of people protected by law. The protected classes under the Fair Housing Act include race, color, national origin, disability status, family status, religion, and sex. Under the law, home sellers, realtors, lenders, and others involved in homebuying and homeownership may not take certain discriminatory actions against these protected classes, such as refusing to sell a home to someone based on their race or the color of their skin, or saying in advertising that a home will not be sold to families with children.
In Spring 2024, Kinder Bridges Fellow Ruchi Tiwari worked with LISC Houston to complete a research project on fair housing issues that affect Houston and Harris County homebuyers and homeowners. Ms. Tiwari completed 31 qualitative interviews with participants in Own the HOU programs to understand their awareness of fair housing protections, as well as any discrimination they faced in the homebuying process. She found that more than two-thirds of participants did not know who to contact if they experienced discrimination in the homebuying process, and more than two-thirds also did not know that discriminatory advertising of homes is not allowed by the Fair Housing Act.
Your knowledge of the Fair Housing Act can help protect you as you work to purchase and retain your home – and you can also be a resource on the Act for your family and friends to ensure they are treated fairly according to federal law. Please download our summary sheet and keep it for your reference.
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