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Learn Your
Federal Fair Housing Laws Here
to Avoid Tenant Discrimination PART 1
Learning
your federal fair housing laws is important for avoiding tenant
discrimination and staying out of any ugly legal problems. Our fair
housing FAQ in plain English will answer all your fair housing
questions and show you how to screen your tenants correctly.
Actually staying out of legal trouble is easy and fuss-free as
long as you stick to the rules below when
screening your potential
tenants:
Read
up on Your Area's Fair Housing Laws for the Important Dos and Don'ts
Reading up on your fair housing laws is less painful
than most people would imagine. Don't worry
about having to sift through piles of colorful legal gabble - Most
federal
fair housing laws are (thankfully) written in plain English and should
answer
most of your fair housing questions.
For more fair housing articles, here are the links
to the government fair housing FAQ for these countries:
United States - Federal Fair Housing Act
United Kingdom - Tenant
Discrimination Act
Canada - Residential Tenancies Act (Part II)
According to the federal fair housing laws, you cannot reject someone
due to their race, color,
language, ethnic origin, national origin, civil status, sex, sexual
orientation, religion, political convictions, social conditions and
physical disability.
The purpose
of fair housing laws is
not to give landlords like you a hard time. They are just there to make
sure that everyone gets an equal chance to apply for rental housing.
To avoid tenant discrimination, you
are also not allowed to ask for different terms and conditions based on
your tenant's social background (for example asking a higher rent for
unmarried couples vs married couples).
If you happen to be
a resident landlord (meaning that you live in the same rental property
or rental unit as your tenants), the good news is that you are usually
subjected to less restrictions from federal fair housing
laws.
Make
Sure Your Advertisement for New Tenants Do Not Discriminate
Anyone
Before
you even begin your tenant background checks, avoid posting any
advertisements that even hints of tenant discrimination based on
race, gender,
family status, nationality, religion or disability.
Do take
note
that even stating your preferences is a no-no. While most landlords
are aware that
posting an ad that says, "students need not apply" is obviously wrong
and disallowed, saying something like, "great place to live for married
couples" may be considered discriminating.
If you are
posting an advertisements to look for new tenants, it's good idea to
take a look at our landlord
leasing guide on advertising for tenants.
Other
than the wording of your ads and notices, where and how you look for
new tenants does matter as well. For example if you live in country
where Asians are a minority but you choose to only advertise in the
local Chinese newspaper, you may run afoul of the federal fair housing
laws as well.
At this point you may find yourself asking, "So what exactly can I
screen my tenants for?"
To
answer your fair housing questions, these are important and valid
reasons
for screening tenants: Is the person able and willing to pay you rent?
Is he likely to follow the rules of your rental agreement? Is
it
likely that he will carry out illegal activities on your property?
And that's
not all... Uncover more important federal fair housing laws and how to
avoid tenant discrimination when screening your potential tenants:
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