Fair Housing
Equal Credit Opportunity Act
The federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act makes it unlawful to discriminate
against anyone on a credit application due to race, color, religion, national
origin, sex, marital status, age or because all or part of an applicant's income
comes from any public assistance program.
Home sellers, prospective home buyers, real estate agents, mortgage brokers and
loan officers all have rights and responsibilities under the law.
For sellers
As a home seller or landlord, you are
obligated not to discriminate in the sale, rental or financing of your property
on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or
national origin. You also cannot do so through your licensed broker or
salesperson, who is also bound by discrimination law. In either case, you may
not set any discriminatory terms or conditions in a purchase contract or a
lease. You may not deny that housing is available or advertise a property's
availability only to persons of a certain race, color, religion, sex,
disability, familial status or national origin
For real estate professionals
Agents in a real estate transaction may not discriminate on the basis of race,
color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin. They also
may not follow such instructions from a home seller or landlord.
Discrimination complaints about housing may be filed with the nearest office of the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) or by calling HUD's toll-free numbers, 1-800-669-9777 (voice) or 1-800-543-8294 (TDD