Last updated September 3, 2010
Housing Discrimination
Age, Sex, Race, Religion
For many people, choosing housing options is an extremely important aspect of life. Though everyone loves the American dream and wants to be a homeowner, there is a significantly large number of citizens who rent or lease their home. These may be apartment dwellings, mobile or manufactured homes, single family dwellings, duplexes, or condos. No matter what type of housing you rent, one thing is certain- housing discrimination is illegal.
Housing discrimination is refusing to rent, sell, or lease property to an individual based upon certain characteristics that the potential tenant displays. These characteristics may include their age, sex, sexual orientation, race, religion, even how many children they may have. The subject of housing discrimination seems as if it may be confusing, especially for landlords, however the law makes things perfectly clear.
A landlord may feel that a certain ethnic race is not a good choice to rent to, they may base their judgment on stereotypes or even upon a prior past experience. Additionally, a landlord may feel that renting to someone who has a physical or mental handicapped is not a good idea and simply refuses to rent to them. Both of these motives are illegal, however the difficult part is in proving the landlord’s motive. As you can see, it can be quite discouraging to try to prove that a landlord didn’t rent to someone based upon their stereotypical and preconceived notions.
However, it isn’t hard to prove housing discrimination if a landlord blatantly asks you questions regarding your race, religion, disability, age, or family situation then turns you down. In fact, these types of questions are illegal and point to housing discrimination. Also, a landlord cannot advertise a property and specifically target a certain type of tenant in their ad. If you believe that you are the victim of housing discrimination it is best to contact an attorney for a free evaluation of your case.
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