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What are Examples of
Prohibited Discrimination?
- Refusal to rent or deal with someone because of
a disability
"I don’t want someone with a mental
disability to live in my building."
"I cannot rent to you. I am afraid of future
liability, if you get sick."
- Special rules, deposits or rental
charges
"People who use wheelchairs damage the
apartment. You must leave double the usual security deposit."
"You can only live here if there is someone to
take care of you."
- A false statement (because of disability) that
housing is not available
Saying "It is rented" when it is
not.
- Refusal of a reasonable accommodation in
practices, policies or services, such as refusal to:
Provide an available reserved parking space
closest to an apartment (because of a mobility impairment).
Read the rental application (because of a
learning disability).
- Refusing to let you make a reasonable
modification at your expense to your apartment or common areas, such as a
lobby.
Not allowing grab bars in the
bathroom.
Not allowing you to ramp the one step up into
the lobby.
- Advertising which limits housing for someone
with a disability.
- Restricting choice to a neighborhood or a
particular floor of a building.
- Intimidation or retaliation against someone for
filing a complaint.
Questions a Landlord May
NOT Ask
- "Do you have a
disability?"
- "May I have permission to see your medical
records?"
- "Do you have someone who can vouch for your
safety?"
Questions a Landlord May
Ask - as long as ALL Applicants or Tenants are Asked
- If the housing is set aside for someone with
a disability, it is legal to ask if you qualify.
- "Are you illegally using
drugs?"
- "Have you been convicted of the illegal
manufacture or distribution of a controlled substance?"
- "Would your tenancy result in substantial
property damage?" (Not normal wear and tear.)
- You may be asked about your ability to meet
tenancy requirements, i.e. pay the rent, obey building rules about such things
as smoking.
You Can Be Rejected as a
Tenant or Evicted from Your Housing
- If you cannot, or do not, pay your rent and obey
all reasonable rules, or
- If there is recent evidence of dangerous or
abusive behavior which shows that your tenancy would put others at direct risk
of harm AND that there is no reasonable accommodation that would remove the
risk (for example, allowing for new medication to take effect or time for you
to find someone to assist in changing your behavior).
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Prohibited Actions
The FHAA prohibits a wide array of activities that
discriminate against persons with disabilities and families with children in
the sale or rental of housing. The following specifically outlines illegal
actions:
- Refusal to sell or rent a dwelling unit when a bona fide
offer has been made, where the refusal is based on race, color, religion, sex,
disability, familial status or national origin.
- Imposing different terms and conditions or treating
people differently with the provision of service because of race, color,
religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin.
- Discouraging an individual from living in a community or
neighborhood, if the restriction is based on race, color, religion, sex,
disability, familial status or national origin. This activity is frequently
referred to as "steering".
- Advertising, posting notices or making statements in such
a way as to deny access to an individual if that denial is based on race,
color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin.
- Misrepresenting the availability of a dwelling because of
the applicant’s race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or
national origin.
- Blockbusting by encouraging the sale or rental of a
dwelling by implying that people of a certain race, color, religion, sex,
disability, familial status or origin are entering the community in large
numbers.
The FHAA expands the traditional list of prohibited
activities to actions which relate directly to discrimination based on
disability. The following are examples of such activities:
- It is illegal for a landlord to refuse to allow a tenant
with a disability to make modifications, at the tenant’s expense, which
would permit the tenant to fully enjoy the premises. The landlord can, where
reasonable, require the tenant to restore the interior of the premises to the
condition it was in prior to the modification. Premises are defined to include
interior and exterior parts. Therefore, refusing to permit a tenant to make
modifications to a lobby, entryway, parking lot or laundry room, is also
discriminatory. This is discussed in greater detail in the "reasonable
accommodations" section.
- Asking a question designed to determine whether an
applicant or anyone associated with that applicant has a disability is unlawful
under FHAA. However, the Act does provide for certain inquiries, provided they
are asked of all applicants whether or not they have a disability.
A housing provider may ask:
- If an applicant can meet the financial requirements of
ownership or tenancy;
- If an applicant is eligible for housing that is available
only to persons with a disability or a specific disability;
- If a person is eligible for a priority available only to
persons with a disability or a specific disability;
- If a person is a current substance abuser;
- If an applicant has ever been convicted of the illegal
manufacture or distribution of a controlled substance.
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