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Employment
Fair
Housing
Outreach and Education
Doing Business with Lee
County
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What
is illegal under the Fair Housing Act?
It is unlawful to take
any of the following actions upon race, color, national origin, religion, sex,
disability (physical or mental) or familial status (when there are children
under 18 and/or pregnant women):
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Refuse to rent or
sell housing |
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Refuse to negotiate
for housing |
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Falsely deny that
housing is available |
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Provide different
conditions, privileges, or services for the sale, rental, |
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financing, or
insuring of housing |
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For profit,
persuade someone to sell or rent their home under the |
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market value
because of the racial or ethnic change in the make up of |
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the neighborhood.
This is called blockbusting. |
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Deny access to or
membership in a facility or service related to the sale |
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or rental of
housing |
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Refuse to make a
mortgage loan |
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Refuse to offer
loan information |
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Discriminate in
property appraisals |
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Deny property
insurance |
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Show apartments
or homes in certain neighborhoods only. This is |
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called steering. |
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Fail to design and
construct housing in an
accessible manner |
Additional
Protection under the Fair Housing Act
It is also illegal to:
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Advertise or make
any statement that indicates a preference or limitation |
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based on race,
color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or |
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disability. For
example: Advertisement may not say "Christians preferred" or |
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"no children
allowed". |
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Threaten, force,
intimidate, or interfere with anyone exercising a fair |
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housing right or
assisting others who exercise that right |
Additional
Protection for people with
Disabilities
It is illegal to:
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Refuse to let
people with disabilities make reasonable
modifications to |
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the dwelling or
common use areas at their own expense. Landlords |
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may require the
tenants to restore the property to its original conditions |
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when the tenant
moves. |
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Refuse to make any
reasonable accommodations to rules,
regulations, |
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and policies when
needed, i.e. a person with a visual impairment may |
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keep a guide dog
regardless of a 'no pets' policy, because the dog is a |
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service animal not a pet. |
Additional
Protection for Families with Children
Unless a building or
community qualifies as housing for older persons, it may not discriminate
based on familial status. That is, it may not discriminate against families
in which one or more children under 18 live with:
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A parent |
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A person who has
legal custody of a child or children, or |
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The designee of the
parent or legal custodian, with the parent or |
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custodian's written
permission. |
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Familial Status
protection also applies to pregnant women and anyone |
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who has, or
obtains, custody of a child under age 18. |
Exemptions: Housing for older
persons is exempt from the prohibition against familial status
discrimination if:
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It is specifically
designed for and occupied by elderly persons under a |
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Federal, State or
local government program, or |
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It is occupied
solely by persons who are 62 years of age or older, or |
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It houses at least
one person who is 55 or older in at least 80 percent of |
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the occupied units
and adheres to a policy statement that demonstrates |
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an intent to house
persons who are 55 or older. |
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