Fair Housing Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of Fair Housing Law

COACH’S ANSWERS & EXPLANATIONS

QUESTION #1

Correct answers: a, c, e, f, h, j, k.

The federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, and familial status.

QUESTION #2

Correct answer: b

Ensuring compliance with federal fair housing laws is a great first step to protecting your community from fair housing trouble, but you also must comply with any applicable state and local fair housing laws to fully protect your community from discrimination claims. Depending on where you’re located, state and local law may expand fair housing protections beyond federal requirements to ban discrimination based on age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, source of income, and other characteristics.

QUESTION #3

Correct answer: a

Federal fair housing law bans not only intentional discrimination, but also what’s known as disparate impact discrimination—that is, claims based on seemingly neutral policies that have a discriminatory effect on members of protected classes. In disparate impact claims, the focus is on the effects of the policy, not its intent, so communities may be liable for adopting or enforcing the policy that has a discriminatory effect, even if there was no intent to discriminate based on race or any other protected characteristic.

QUESTION #4

Correct answer: a

You could face a fair housing complaint based on the way that your community handles telephone calls or emails from prospects. Treating people differently because of the way they sound on the phone could lead to a complaint of linguistic profiling based on race or national origin. And fair housing experts warn against “email profiling”—that is, treating prospects differently based on perceived race or ethnicity from the name used in an email.

QUESTION #5

Correct answer: c

Treat residents consistently when holding them accountable for breaking the rules. If a resident violates your lease, you should give that resident a second chance only if you give all your residents a second chance in the same situation.

Wrong answers explained:

a.   Don’t let your fear of a fair housing claim prevent you from applying your policies fairly and consistently. When necessary, consult your attorney to make sure that your actions are documented and justified.

b.   You could wind up in fair housing trouble if you ignore your friend’s violation of the rules, but don’t offer the same consideration to other residents. If you make exceptions for certain residents, then those who don’t get a second chance may think you’re treating them differently based on their race, sex, or other protected characteristic.

QUESTION #6

Correct answer: a

Answering questions from prospects could lead to fair housing trouble if the response involves the race, ethnicity, or other protected characteristics of other residents in your community. When talking to prospects, don’t discuss the personal attributes of your residents, regardless of who brings up the subject.

QUESTION #7

Correct answer: a

Review advertising and marketing materials to make sure they don’t contain discriminatory statements—that is, express a preference for or against anyone based on any characteristic protected under federal, state, or local law. Liability for making discriminatory statements doesn’t require proof of discriminatory intent. The test is whether an “ordinary reader or listener” would interpret the statement as indicating a preference for—or against—a protected class. Even if you don’t intend to discriminate against families with children, an ordinary reader could interpret the phrase, “perfect for empty nesters” to suggest a preference for couples who don’t have children living at home—and against families with young children. 

QUESTION #8

Correct answer: b

The rules banning discriminatory advertising are the same, regardless of whether it’s in print or online. The ban on discriminatory advertising applies to all advertising media, including newspapers, magazines, television, radio, and the Internet, according to HUD.

QUESTION #9

Correct answer: b

Subtle forms of discrimination are just as unlawful as blatantly discriminatory practices. Under the FHA, it’s unlawful to provide inaccurate or false information about availability because of a prospect’s race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin.

QUESTION #10

Correct answer: a

Fair housing law bars discrimination against residents—whatever their personal characteristics—because of their association with members of a protected group. It’s unlawful to take any adverse action against a resident—such as interfering with her right to enjoy the premises or threatening or evicting her—because of biases against her friends or guests.

QUESTION #11

Correct answer: a

Your community could face a fair housing claim for discrimination based on national origin if you refuse to rent to applicants who don’t speak English. Discrimination based on national origin means treating people differently because of their ancestry, ethnicity, birthplace, culture, or language.

HUD recently released new guidance explaining how it will analyze fair housing claims alleging discrimination against people who don’t speak, read, or write English proficiently. Though people with limited English proficiency are not a protected class under the FHA, the law prohibits discrimination based on national origin, which is closely linked to the ability to communicate proficiently in English.

QUESTION #12

Correct answer: b

You may be well intentioned, but showing them only the unit near the Russian-speaking family could be considered unlawful steering based on national origin. Fair housing law does not permit you to limit a prospect’s housing choices by encouraging or discouraging him from living in your community—or certain parts of the community—because of his race, national origin, or any other protected characteristic. It’s better to tell prospects about all available units, and allow them to make a choice about where they want to live.

QUESTION #13

Correct answer: b

You could trigger a fair housing complaint for misrepresenting the availability of the unit because the prospect is pregnant. The law banning discrimination based on familial status protects pregnant women in addition to families with children under 18.

QUESTION #14

Correct answer: a

You may take steps to address the noise complaints, but enforcing policies that require adult supervision for all outdoor activities of children under 12 could trigger a claim of discrimination based on familial status.

QUESTION #15

Correct answer: b

Fair housing law recognizes an exception to the familial status provisions that allow retirement communities to lawfully exclude children. But it’s a limited exception—it applies only if the community satisfies strict legal requirements to qualify as “housing for older persons.” Even if most of your residents are 55 and older, your community could be accused of discrimination based on familial status unless you comply with all technical requirements to qualify for the senior housing exemption.

QUESTION #16

Correct answer: b

HUD has stated that the use of secularized terms or symbols relating to religious holidays, such as Santa Claus or phrases such as “Merry Christmas” or the like, do not violate federal fair housing law. Although wishing someone a Merry Christmas is unlikely, by itself, to lead to a discrimination claim, fair housing experts advise the use of secular greetings, such as “Happy Holidays” or “Seasons Greetings,” when speaking to prospects and residents.

QUESTION #17

Correct answer: a

Fair housing law bars communities from treating people differently based on their religious beliefs or practices. The law clearly protects members of established religions, but fair housing experts believe it may be broad enough to cover a wide variety of religious or spiritual beliefs.

QUESTION #18

Correct answer: a

Under fair housing law, you should consider requests for reasonable accommodations even if the resident doesn’t have an apparent disability. Fair housing law broadly defines disability to cover anyone who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities—even if it isn’t obvious or apparent. HUD’s list of impairments includes many physical and mental conditions with few, if any, obvious symptoms to suggest that a particular prospect qualifies under the FHA’s disability-related provisions.

QUESTION #19

Correct answer: b

When a reasonable accommodation request comes from a resident whose disability isn’t readily apparent, federal guidelines allow you to request reliable disability-related information to verify that he has a disability that qualifies under the FHA, but you can’t insist that it come from his treating physician. Federal guidelines state that the verification may come from a medical, mental health, or social services provider; peer support group; or reliable third party in a position to know about the individual’s disability. In some cases, the federal guidelines say that it can come from the applicant himself, such as proof that he receives Social Security disability benefits or “a credible statement by the individual.”

QUESTION #20

Correct answer: b

Fair housing law doesn’t require communities to grant unreasonable accommodation requests. The law considers an accommodation request unreasonable if it imposes an undue financial and administrative burden or fundamentally alters the nature of the community’s operations. Since the community doesn’t provide transportation or shopping services to its residents, then a request by a resident who doesn’t drive due to a disability would likely be considered unreasonable. Rather than deny the request outright, however, it may be a good idea to engage in the “interactive process” to discuss possible alternatives, perhaps by telling her about a nearby pharmacy that delivers medication to people living in the neighborhood.

QUESTION #21

Correct answer: b

The FHA does not require that a reasonable accommodation request be made in a particular manner or at a particular time, so it doesn’t matter that the resident waited several months after moving into the community before making the parking request. Follow your community’s policies and procedures to evaluate whether to grant her request as a reasonable accommodation.

QUESTION #22

Correct answer: b

Federal fair housing law doesn’t prohibit communities from adopting and enforcing pet policies. In essence, you can set whatever pet policy you want—as long as you don’t use it to keep out assistance animals needed by residents with disabilities.

QUESTION #23

Correct answer: b

Despite your suspicions, you should treat it as a request for a reasonable accommodation for an exception to your pet policies. The reasonable accommodation rules kick in anytime anyone says she needs or wants something—including an assistance animal—because of a disability.

The resident may be entitled to keep the cat as an emotional support animal if she has a disability-related need for the animal. Under fair housing law, assistance animals are not pets—they’re animals that work, provide assistance, or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, or provide emotional support that alleviates one or more identified symptoms or effects of a person’s disability, according to HUD.

QUESTION #24

Correct answer: b

Regardless of your general policy for pet owners, HUD says that you can’t impose extra conditions, such as payment of a pet deposit or extra monthly pet fee, as a condition of allowing an individual with a disability to keep an assistance animal. If a resident’s assistance animal causes damage to his unit or the common areas, however, HUD says that you may charge him for the cost of repairing the damage (or deduct it from the standard security deposit imposed on all residents) if you have a policy to assess residents for any damage that they cause to the premises.

QUESTION #25

Correct answer: b

It’s unlawful to retaliate against a resident because she filed a fair housing complaint against you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take action against her if she’s in serious violation of the lease. You may initiate eviction proceedings—but you should get legal advice so you can be prepared for a potential retaliation claim. Since it’s been years since she filed the discrimination complaint, you should be able to fend off a retaliation claim as long as you can prove that you have a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for evicting her—nonpayment of rent—and that you didn’t single her out for discriminatory reasons.