The Federal Fair Housing Act of 1964
All real estate advertising placed by anyone through this service is subject to the US Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 as amended which makes it illegal to advertise "any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, family status or national origin or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination."
Local and foreign laws add prohibitions against discrimination based on age, parental status, sexual orientation, political ideology, financial status, and perhaps other basis. Please check with your local government agency for more information.
To avoid both civil and criminal liability, obvious words should be avoided that connote any of the forbidden categories. Other words no so obvious have been interpreted liberally by the courts to violate these categories.
For example, the following terms may, in the context of an ad, be considered in violation of US federal, state or local laws and if so, would be unacceptable in real estate advertising:
adult, bachelor, couple, family, mature, no children, one person, retired, sex, single, two people, Christian, executive, exclusive, handicap, integrated, membership approval, mentally ill, religious, religious landmark, older persons, senior citizens, physically fit person, race, restricted, senior discount
The above list is by no means complete. Please consult with local authorities, or with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development if you have any questions.
This service will not knowingly accept any advertisement for real estate which is in violation of the law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings, under the jurisdiction of US Federal regulations, advertised in this service are available on an equal opportunity basis. To complain of discrimination, call HUD Toll-free at 1-800-347-3735.
