2-5 Fair Housing Act, Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of l968

• A. General

The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in most housing and housingrelated transactions with respect to the following bases:

1. Race;

2. Color;

3. Religion;

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4. Sex;

5. Disability;

6. Familial status; or

7. National origin.

The Act applies to all housing units subject to this handbook.

• B. Prohibited Actions

Under the Fair Housing Act, owners or other housing providers must not take any of the actions listed below based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin:

1. Deny anyone the opportunity to apply to rent housing, or deny to any qualified applicant the opportunity to lease housing suitable to his or her needs;

2. Provide anyone housing that is different from that provided to others;

• Subject anyone to segregation, even if by floor or wing;

4. Restrict anyone’s access to any benefit enjoyed by others in connection with the housing program;

5. Treat anyone differently in determining eligibility or other requirements for admission, in use of the housing amenities, facilities or programs, or in the terms and conditions of a lease. See paragraph 2-5 C for a discussion of the owner’s obligation to provide reasonable accommodations to persons with disabilities;

6. Deny anyone access to the same level of services;

NOTE: An owner should be certain that all services at the project are supplied in a nondiscriminatory fashion. For example, there cannot be a preference for providing a service to persons of a specific religion, even if the agency providing the service is a faith-based organization.

7. Deny anyone the opportunity to participate in a planning or advisory group that is an integral part of the housing program;

8. Publish or cause to be published an advertisement or notice indicating the availability of housing that prefers or excludes persons;

9. Discriminate in the provision of brokerage services or in residential real estate transactions;

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10. Discriminate against someone because of that person’s relation to or association with another individual; or

11. Retaliate against, threaten, or act in any manner to intimidate someone because he or she has exercised rights under the Fair Housing Act.

• C. Additional Protections for Persons with Disabilities

Although the Fair Housing Act generally requires applicants to be given equal treatment and prohibits discrimination against anyone with respect to the prohibited bases, there are certain limited circumstances when the Act requires a housing provider to treat persons with disabilities differently to enable them to have equal access to, or enjoyment of, housing and other housing-related programs. Specifically, the Fair Housing Act requires housing providers to provide “reasonable accommodations” to persons with disabilities. This means an owner may have to modify rules, policies, practices, procedures and/or services to afford a person with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy the housing. In addition, the Fair Housing Act contains specific accessibility requirements that apply to the design and construction of new multifamily housing built for first occupancy after March 13, 1991. (For further discussion see paragraph 2-45.)

• D.