Fair Housing Compliance in Tenant Screening
June 20, 2024The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability at the federal level — and many states and cities add further protected classes (source of income, sexual orientation, gender identity, and others). Screening is where Fair Housing risk concentrates, because it's where you're making a yes/no decision about a specific person.
The core rule: apply the same process to everyone
Every applicant should go through the identical process — same application, same criteria, same verification steps, same documentation. The moment the process varies by applicant, you've created a fact pattern that looks like discrimination even if the underlying reason wasn't related to a protected class.
Questions to avoid during screening
Steer clear of questions that touch a protected class, even indirectly:
- • Anything about children, pregnancy, or family plans (familial status)
- • Anything about disability or the need for accommodation, unless the applicant raises it and you're responding to a request
- • Anything about national origin, immigration status beyond what's legally required for verification, or religion
- • Anything that could function as a proxy for a protected class, like assumptions based on a name or accent
Document your reasoning
For every denial, be able to point to the specific, written, consistently-applied criterion the applicant didn't meet. "Didn't meet the income requirement" tied to a documented policy is defensible. A vague or undocumented reason is not.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Fair Housing law apply to all rental properties?
The federal Fair Housing Act has a narrow exemption for owner-occupied buildings with four or fewer units and for single-family homes rented without an agent in limited circumstances — but most rentals are covered, and many state and local laws have fewer exemptions.
What are protected classes beyond the federal list?
Common additions at the state or local level include source of income (including housing vouchers), sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, and age — check your specific state and city.
Can I ask an applicant about a Section 8 voucher?
In jurisdictions where source of income is a protected class, refusing an applicant specifically because they'd pay with a housing voucher is prohibited — check your local law, since this varies significantly by state and city.