Fair Housing Act basics for boards

Seven classes, and only seven, under federal law

The Act bans discrimination "because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin," with a parallel set of prohibitions for a seventh class the statute calls "handicap," its own term for disability. Those seven are the only classes federal law reaches.

"To discriminate against any person in the terms, conditions, or privileges of sale or rental of a dwelling... because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin."

Source: Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601-3619, Cornell Legal Information Institute

"Handicap" is defined broadly: a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, a record of one, or being regarded as having one. That reaches chronic illness and mental health conditions, not only mobility. See Protected classes for how each class plays out in practice.

A board asked to also protect a class outside this list, sexual orientation or source of income, for example, is being asked a state or local law question, not a federal one. Check your state's own fair housing statute.

Saying no is not the only way to violate it

Refusing a reasonable accommodation or a reasonable modification is not a lesser mistake. The statute defines the refusal itself as discrimination, sitting in the same subsection that bans refusing to sell or rent. Harassment is its own violation on top of that, and it does not require a pattern to count.

"A single incident of harassment... may constitute a discriminatory housing practice" where it is severe enough to create a hostile environment.

Source: Fair housing regulations, 24 CFR Part 100, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Retaliation against a resident for asking, or for helping someone else ask, is a separate violation again, and it reaches conduct after they already live there. Discriminatory enforcement, fining or reporting one owner for something you tolerate in others, falls under this same "terms, conditions, or privileges" language, well after closing.

Four layers of authority, weakest at the bottom

When these rules seem to conflict, the order that governs is fixed:

1. Federal statute and its regulations. This is the floor. No governing document can lawfully waive it.
2. State and local fair housing law, which often adds protected classes and can impose stricter rules, never weaker ones. Confirm what your state and city add.
3. HUD and DOJ guidance, useful for reasoning through a scenario, but not binding law, and it can be withdrawn without notice. HUD internally withdrew several of its most detailed assistance-animal guidance documents in 2025.
4. Your declaration, bylaws, and rules, which must yield to the first three wherever they conflict. A restriction that predates fair housing law, or was never updated, does not survive contact with it.

HUD Publishes Notice Removing Fair Housing Guidance Documents, National Low Income Housing Coalition.

The clock starts the day it happens

A resident has one year from a discriminatory act, or its end, to file an administrative complaint with HUD, which then targets a 100-day investigation window. A private lawsuit has two years, and can proceed whether or not a HUD complaint was ever filed. Waiting to see if a request quietly goes away does not stop either clock.