Fair Housing Act

The Fair Housing Act is a federal statute that makes it unlawful for a party to refuse to rent or sell a dwelling to any person because of his or her race, color, national origin, sex or religion. However, the law does not apply to the following: a person who owns a building of four or fewer units and occupies one of the units, also, a person who leases a single-family dwelling and does not own more than three single-family dwellings.

To qualify for either exemption, the lessor cannot use a real estate broker or advertise in a discriminating manner. This act does however prohibit discrimination by real estate brokers, mortgage lenders, and advertisers concerning the sale or rental of real property.