Academy/Fair Housing & Owner Rights
Protected classes
The seven groups federal fair housing law names, and why the list is shorter than most boards assume.
The Fair Housing Act protects seven classes: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability (which the statute calls "handicap"). These are the only classes federal law reaches directly. A board rule, denial, or enforcement decision that treats someone differently because of any of the seven carries federal discrimination risk; anything else is a state or local law question.
The seven classes
The Fair Housing Act names race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability. Disability appears in the statute under its own older term, "handicap," but it means the same thing modern usage means by disability.
"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. § 3604(a)-(b), Cornell Legal Information Institute
These seven are the only classes federal law reaches directly. If an owner asks whether it is illegal to treat someone differently because of income, sexual orientation, or marital status, that is a question about state or local law, which many jurisdictions layer on top of these seven, never subtracting from them. Check your state and local fair housing law before answering.
Two classes that reach further than they sound
"Handicap," the Act's own term for disability, is not limited to mobility impairments. It covers chronic illness, mental health conditions, and cognitive disabilities too.
"A physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of such person's major life activities, a record of having such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment."
Source: Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3602(h), Cornell Legal Information Institute
Familial status protects the household, not only the child in it. A rule that treats a resident differently because a child lives with them can implicate this class even if the rule never mentions children by name.
"One or more individuals (who have not attained the age of 18 years) being domiciled with a parent or another person having legal custody."
Source: Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3602(k), Cornell Legal Information Institute
What this list leaves out
Marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, source of income, veteran status, and age outside familial status protection are not on the federal list. Many states and cities protect one or more of these anyway, and where a stricter local rule exists, that local rule controls, not the federal floor. Confirm what your state and local fair housing law, and your state's HOA statute, actually cover before assuming federal law is the whole picture.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
A resident tells the board that denying a rental application because the applicant is unmarried and cohabiting violates the Fair Housing Act. Is the resident right under federal law?
A resident has a chronic illness that is not visible and does not affect mobility. Does the Fair Housing Act's definition of "handicap" cover this?
A community rule limits certain units to "no more than two unrelated adults" and never mentions children. A single mother with two kids is denied under this rule. Which class is most likely implicated?
Sources
- Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §�� 3601-3619, U.S. Congress (Cornell Legal Information Institute)
Fair Housing & Owner Rights
Next, see how these seven classes show up in an actual accommodation request your board has to evaluate.
Which classes beyond the federal seven your state or city protects, and how those protections interact with your CC&Rs, varies by state and local law.