Have you been denied rental or sale of a home? What did the landlord or seller say? Has your application for a particular service such as financial assistance, representation from an agent, broker or lawyer, appraisal or insurance, refused? Find out from the Fair Housing Act of 1974 whether your rights to equal housing opportunity or fair real estate-related transaction have been violated.
This Act has been implemented to instigate that all practitioners in the real estate industry provide wide-ranging opportunities to everyone. It encourages individuals, couples and families to exercise their rights when pursuing their real estate endeavor, from home buying or renting to seeking financial or other professional assistance. It obliges organizations, establishments, corporations, partnerships, and even city and federal agencies to strictly abide by the rules. Any negotiation or application refused or denied due to the person’s race, color, national origin, sex, religion, handicap or familial status is deemed unjustifiable.
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development or HUD is the main enforcer of the Act. This department oversees that discrimination is prohibited in but not limited to these areas:
seeking professional representation from an agent, broker or lawyer
financing, insuring, appraising a house
misleading contract terms and conditions
deliberate false claim about property vacancy
blockbusting to promote neighborhood exclusivity and protect property value
policies on qualification, application or eviction process
sale, rental or service advertisement in any medium
limiting neighborhood or building facility use
pre-determining housing type or unit for a particular tenant or buyer
threatening, coercing, intimidating or interfering a person who exercises fair housing rights
Persons with disabilities and families with disabled members have further considerations. One example is when a handicapped person or his/her family is looking into renting or buying in a multi-leveled multi-unit complex. All units in all floors must be shown to the probable tenant. The landlord or property manager has no right to presume that the housing unit to be rented or bought would be on the first floor, due to the disability of a person. In addition, reasonable changes in the unit, building or common areas (parking space or lounge) must be accommodated to provide a safer and more comfortable environment for the disabled person. These alterations are to be made at the landlord’s expense.
Conversely, there are evenhanded exemptions to the rule. Denial of residence in any housing type is only acceptable due to these reasons:
the hopeful home buyer or tenant is proven to be mentally unstable and violent
owner-occupied buildings with no more than four units
single-family housing sold or rented without a broker
housing available to members of an organization or private clubs
55 years and older citizen housing communities (families are allowed to qualify for such housing given that they have members in such age description)
HUD offices receive complaints via online submission, mail or phone. The HUD website has a downloadable complaint form, and other details for other means of complaint submission. You have to provide your full name, contact details such as phone number and current address, and a detailed explanation of your problem. You will be notified at the event when a thorough investigation will follow shortly after your submission. The Department of Justice may call for criminal proceedings, and guilty parties would face serious repercussions.
Knowing your rights may not be enough. Assert these rights accordingly so your endeavor to have or rent a decent home could be accomplished as soon as possible.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.realestateproarticles.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites