50 Years of the Fair Housing Act
LOUISIANA REALTORS • March 28, 2018
Five decades ago Title VII of the Civil Rights Act was signed into law. This final piece of civil rights legislation prohibits the discrimination in the sale and rental of residential housing. The goal of this act was to end the decades-long problem of discrimination based on race, sex, age, disability, and several other personal characteristics when it comes to access to housing.
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Overseen by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, this department has the authority to investigate cases of discrimination involving:
• Home sales
• Rentals
• Advertising
• Mortgage lending and insurance
• Property insurance
• And more
It is important to be aware of everything that the Fair Housing Act
covers. It applies to dwellings that are defined as, “any building, structure, or portion thereof which is occupied as, or designed or intended for occupancy as, a residence by one or more families, and any vacant land which is offered for sale or lease for the construction or location thereon of any such building, structure or portion thereof”. It also covers a number of different real estate transactions:
• The making or purchasing of loans or providing other financial assistance for the purchase
• Construction
• Improvement
• Repair or maintenance of a dwelling
• The selling, brokering or appraising of residential real property
• Access, membership, or participation in multiple listing services, real estate brokers’ organizations, or other services related to the business of selling or renting dwellings.
Originally upon enactment, the Fair Housing Act prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. In 1974 and again in 1988 it was expanded to include disability and familial status. These are the protected classes under the act. But what exactly constitutes discrimination?
The types of discrimination that the Fair Housing Act protects against are outright, intentional discrimination, and disparate impact. Outright, intentional discrimination or steering can be proven with direct evidence such as a sign stating that a particular member of one of the protected classes listed above is not eligible to rent or purchase, or making statements dissuading interest based on age, race, sex, ability, etc. Disparate impact is less obvious. This type of discrimination will involve a policy that has the unintended consequence of discrimination. These types of policies can make housing options more restrictive for members of the protected classes than for people not affiliated with those groups. While this policy was not designed to discriminate, its implementation has a higher impact on people in the protected classes.
While this is a lot of information, this groundbreaking law has changed the lives of countless people and families for decades. As a REALTOR®
it is important to understand the ins and outs of the Fair Housing Act so that you can ensure that every client you have is receiving the protection that they deserve, because Fair Housing Makes U.S. Stronger.
Louisiana REALTORS® CEO Norman Morris issued the following statement after SpaceX announced plans to invest $100 billion in a new launch facility in Vermilion Parish. The project is expected to create 3,000 direct jobs and more than 8,100 indirect jobs across Acadiana. “SpaceX’s investment is an extraordinary economic win for Louisiana. We congratulate Governor Jeff Landry, Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois, Vermilion Parish leaders, and everyone who helped bring this historic project home. The housing and infrastructure improvements needed to support more than 11,000 new job opportunities should generate a huge economic boost to the Acadiana and Gulf Coast region. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, each typical Louisiana home sale generates approximately $88,600 in economic activity. Even if only half of the new SpaceX related jobs lead to a home purchase, the impact would generate nearly half a billion dollars across our state's economy. That improves our tax base and school systems, and ripples through our economy touching builders, bankers, hardware stores, appliance dealers, contractors and so many more. “Housing is not downstream of economic development; it is an essential infrastructure. Louisiana REALTORS® and our partners stand ready to help turn these new jobs into homes, stronger communities and lasting roots in Louisiana. Economic development creates jobs, but housing turns those jobs into homes. Let’s make Louisiana home again, together.” Economic-impact estimates are illustrative calculations by Louisiana REALTORS® using employment projections from Louisiana Economic Development and the National Association of REALTORS®’ estimated economic impact per typical Louisiana home sale. They are not forecasts or recurring annual-impact figures. Enjoy the video below from the Louisiana Department of Economic Development .
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