Question 1

An apartment manager is in charge of an apartment building with 20 units. When a Hispanic man comes to rent an apartment, the manager says that he only rents to English speakers.

The Fair Housing ActKnow your rights!

Don’t be the victim of

discrimination, when renting or buying a home.

The Fair Housing Act

• In 1968 a law was passed called the Civil Rights Act.

• Title number eight of that law is called the Fair Housing Act.

The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal for landlords to discriminate because of:

• race or skin color (someone is black, white, Asian, etc.)

The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal for landlords to discriminate because of:

• race or skin color (someone is black, white, Asian, etc.)

• national origin (someone is from China or Mexico, etc.)

The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal for landlords to discriminate because of:

•race or skin color (someone is black, white, Asian, etc.)

•national origin (someone is from China or Mexico, etc.)

•Religion (someone is a Christian or Muslim, etc.)

The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal for landlords to discriminate because of:

• race or skin color (someone is black, white, Asian, etc.)

• national origin (someone is from China or Mexico, etc.)

• Religion (someone is a Jew or Muslim, etc.)

• Sex (someone is a man or a woman.)

The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal for landlords to discriminate because of:

• race or skin color (someone is black, white, Asian, etc.)

• national origin (someone is from China or Mexico, etc.)

• Religion (someone is a Jew or Muslim, etc.)

• Sex (someone is a man or a woman.)

• Disability (someone is blind or in a wheelchair.)

The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal for landlords to discriminate because of:

• race or skin color (someone is black, white, Asian, etc.)

• national origin (someone is from China or Mexico, etc.)

• Religion (someone is a Jew or Muslim, etc.)

• Sex (someone is a man or a woman.)

• Disability (someone is blind or in a wheelchair.)

• It is also illegal to discriminate against someone because they have children.

Question 2

A Muslim man sees an advertisement that lists a house for rent in the newspaper. The man calls and makes an appointment to see the apartment. He goes with his wife who is wearing a traditional Muslim head covering. When the landlord sees her he immediately says that he cannot rent them a room. He will not give a reason.

Question 3

A single woman owns a duplex. She lives on the first floor and on the second floor there is a small apartment that she rents out. When a man comes to rent out the apartment, she tells him that she is sorry, but she will only rent the apartment out to another woman.

There are some exceptions to the Fair Housing Act.

An exception is a situation or time that a rule or law does not apply.

In these situations, the Fair Housing Act does

not make the owner’s actions illegal.

        When there are four or less apartments in one building and the owner lives in one of them, the Fair Housing Act does not apply. 

        A religious organization or club can say that only their members can rent an apartment that they own. However, they cannot do this if the organization discriminates against people of another race.

       Some communities that are only for older people (age 55 or older) can say that families with children cannot live there.

Question 4

A woman is renting an apartment. She is hurt in a car accident and asks the manager to change the parking space in front of her home into a handicapped parking space. The manager says he cannot change it because it is not fair to the other people who live there.

Housing issues for people with disabilities

A person in a wheelchair. Deaf or hearing impaired people

Blind or visually impaired people

Older people who are physically not as strong The mentally retarded People with HIV / AIDS

A disability is a problem with a person’s body or a problem with a person’s mind that makes it difficult for him or her to do life activities that most people are able to do. For example:

People with disabilities are protected under the Fair Housing Act.

• Landlords must be willing to make reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities. A reasonable accommodation is a change in the rules or practices so that adults with disabilities can enjoy the property in the same way as everyone else. For Example:

        The owner must allow a handicapped parking space to be made for the disabled.

        The owner must allow blind residents to have a guide dog, even if there is a no – pets policy.

Reasonable Accommodations

Question 5

. A family has a disabled son. They want to have a ramp go up the stairs to their front door. The landlord says they need to pay for it themselves.

Reasonable Modifications

• Landlords must also allow residents to make reasonable modifications. A reasonable modification is a change to the building to make it possible for the resident to use it as another person would, for example, putting in a ramp that goes up the front steps or a railing in the bathroom.

• The tenant must pay for the change.

Question 6

A landlord says that a single woman with a six-year-old son

cannot rent a one-bedroom apartment, because the son must

have his own room.

Family Issues

The law says that owners of rental property cannot discriminate against families with children. This means they cannot do the following:

They cannot require that families with children only stay in a certain building or on a certain floor.

       They cannot require that children have their own room.

Americans usually believe it is better for children to have their own room rather than stay with their parents. Americans also do not believe it is good for boys and girls to share rooms. Sometimes the landlords say that you must rent a separate room for boy and girl children. This is illegal. It is not the landlord’s concern to decide who should sleep in which room.

Family Issues

The law says that owners of rental property cannot discriminate against families with children. This means they cannot do the following:

       They cannot require that less than two people have a bedroom.

Landlords can say that the family must have at least one bedroom for every two people. However, they cannot require less than this.

They must let up to four people stay in a two bedroom apartment, or six people stay in a three bedroom apartment.

  They cannot say that families with children cannot stay in a building for safety reasons.

The owner must make all property that they rent out safe for adults and for children.

Question 7

The rent for an apartment is $900 per month. The landlord will not rent the

apartment to a family because they earn less than $2000 per month. He is not sure they will be able to make the payment, but

the family thinks that they can pay it.

What can the owner do?

The owner wants to have a tenant who will pay rent each month and will keep the house clean.

The owner does not want to have a tenant who will do crimes on the property or break things.

For this reason, the owner can look at your background before renting property.

The owner can:

  Ask about your income. How much money do you make each year? How long have you had your job?

     Do a credit check. Using your social security number and other information, they can check with an agency to see how much money you borrowed before. They can also see if you always made payments on time.

Question 8

An apartment manager requires immigrants to show a driver’s license or state ID so he knows they are here legally. He does not

require the same documents of US Citizens.

The owner can:

   Contact your former landlords. They can ask you for references, including former landlords to see whether you were a good tenant before.

Do a criminal background check. They can check with police to see whether you have a criminal record.

The landlord can do any of these things as long as the same thing is required of all applicants.

Housing Rights for People Buying a Home

The Fair Housing Act also protects people who are buying a home. These are ways that people

are protected, when buying a home.

       It protects people against discrimination by the real estate agent.

o     It is illegal if the real estate agent tries to show black people homes in areas where more black people live and show white people homes in areas where more white people live.

o     It is also not legal for real estate agents to require that some people be pre-qualified for a mortgage and not require that other people be pre-qualified.

       It also protects people against discrimination by the mortgage company.

o     It is illegal if the mortgage company charges a higher interest rate or requires more points from people of one race or religion than from people of another race or religion.

o     It is illegal if the mortgage company has a policy that says that they cannot give a mortgage for homes under a certain price. For example, they cannot say, “We don’t give loans under $50,000.”

 

 

What should you do if you face housing discrimination?

If you experience housing discrimination, contact:

The Fair Housing Council of Suburban Philadelphia

225 S. Chester Road, Suite 1

Swarthmore, PA 19081

Tel: 610-604-4411

Fax: 610-604-4434

Email: information@fhcsp.com

They will listen to your concern and look into the problem. They may send some “testers” to see whether the landlord treats immigrants in the same way that he treats US citizens.

By doing this, you may stop the landlord from discriminating against others.

In some situations, the landlord may have to pay money to you because he discriminated against you.