Property owners renting out homes in California City need to pay close attention to fair housing laws. As you probably know, the laws protecting tenants in California are strict. There’s rent control and just cause eviction to deal with, and a lot of regulations and requirements around security deposits and habitability.
Some of the most important laws, however, pertain to fair housing.
In fact, the state fair housing laws are stricter than the federal laws.
The investors and landlords we work with would not intentionally discriminate against people when renting out a home. Fair housing claims are also expensive, and you’d rather not lose money on penalties and punishments.
When it comes to fair housing laws and landlords, our advice is this: be over-cautious. Don’t leave yourself open to any potential complaints or claims. Inexperienced owners and landlords are sometimes unsure about what they can do and not do when it comes to screening and advertising.
We’ve put together some guidelines and some information based on our
California City property management experience and expertise.
Let’s take a look at what you really need to know.
History Lesson: The Federal Fair Housing Act
The federal Fair Housing Act became law in 1968. It protects a list of seven named classes of people against discrimination in rental housing as well as home buying, home lending, and anything pertaining to housing. The Fair Housing Act applies to you as a landlord as well as real estate agents, property managers, lenders, insurance agents, and anyone who has an impact on providing housing to people.
These are the seven protected classes covered by federal law. You cannot discriminate against anyone based on:
- Race.
- Skin color.
- Religion or creed.
- National origin or ancestry.
- Sex.
- Physical or mental disability.
- Familial status.
Mistakes can be easily made, and that’s why your approach to fair housing has to be informed, consistent and well-documented.
State Laws: Fair Housing in California
California has additional protections in place when it comes to fair housing, taking the state even further into protecting renters against potential discrimination.
The state has a longer list of protected classes than those on the federal law list. In California, we cover all the federal classes plus:
- Sexual orientation
- Age
- Gender identification
- Gender expression
- Veteran or military status
- Citizenship
- Primary language
- Marital status
- Source of income
- Genetic information
This is a list that’s constantly evolving. Make sure you have a plan in place for staying up to date on all the critical laws that are proposed and passed in California, especially when we’re talking about fair housing. Even federal laws get changed and expanded frequently. If you’re not able to stay up to date, working with a California City property management company is important. You need to remain compliant.
Fair Housing and Advertising Your California City Rental Home
When it comes to marketing and fair housing, you need to know what you can say and what you can’t say.
Maybe it never occurred to you that fair housing violations could be found while advertising your California City home for rent. It’s possible, and more common than you realize.
Every rental property owner and management company understands the importance of an aggressive, strategic marketing plan. This is what helps you attract residents to your property. When you’re crafting the description to go with your pictures or writing out a social media post that you hope will be widely shared, you want to be highly descriptive. The idea is to attract a large pool of prospective tenants.
Just remember that any of your listings, marketing materials, and For Rent signs need to comply with fair housing laws.
When you’re marketing your rental home, you can include details in your listing that discuss:
Your description can talk about the property’s benefits; whether those happen to be natural light, updated appliances in the kitchen, or an attached garage.
Be aware of what you cannot say, however. These might seem natural to you, but they’re actually potential fair housing problems. Don’t say a home is “Great for single professionals.” Don’t say it’s “Close to churches.” You cannot advertise that kids or college students are prohibited.
You also cannot disallow Section 8 tenants, but we’ll explore more of that a little bit later.
This type of language can be seen as discriminatory against several of the law’s protected classes.
Keep your rental property marketing accessible to everyone who is qualified. Including or excluding certain groups like families or religious minorities can be seen as discriminatory. The best advice we can give you is to keep your advertising focused on what the property is and what it has to offer.
Don’t make assumptions about who would want to live there, and never talk about the types of tenants you would prefer.
Protect Yourself with Consistent Rental Criteria
Put together standard rental criteria. This could be a list of qualifications. Put the criteria in writing and provide it to any potential tenant who is interested in filling out an application. Then, make sure you follow your own standards consistently every time you screen.
You have to screen each application against the same requirements, otherwise, you could be accused of discrimination.
Written standards will help you with that consistency, and it will also make your screening process more objective. Set up the standards you seek in terms of:
- Credit scores
- Income requirements
- Eviction history
- Positive rental references
Having this criterion in place and providing it to applicants will make it easy for you to move through the application process because you’ll know exactly who is approved and who is not just by looking at the data. You won’t have to make subjective judgments that can put you in fair housing territory.
Staying Up to Date on Fair Housing Developments
Staying up to date with California's fair housing laws requires attention to new laws and also to the way that the courts are interpreting fair housing requirements. You need to know what’s changing and what’s shifting.
Recently, the law has changed in two specific areas of fair housing, and we want to talk about those a little bit because we know that owners without a lot of legal experience are struggling to make sense of what they mean.
These areas are service and support animals (federal law) and Section 8 tenants (state law).
- Service and Companion Animals in California City
Pets in rental properties are more popular than ever. During the pandemic, the number of people owning pets grew. Therefore, providing a pet-friendly rental home is a great way to increase what you earn and decrease your vacancy exposure. But, we understand that not all rental property owners are thrilled with the idea of pets on their property. You don’t have to allow pets.
But, you cannot deny a tenant a
service animal or a companion animal, even if you have a no-pet policy.
The law does not see service or support animals as pets. The law sees them as accommodations.
Not only are you required to accept the
qualified tenants and their service or companion animals; you also cannot charge a pet fee, pet deposit, or pet rent.
There are some nuances to how a service animal is treated versus a companion animal.
- Service animals are trained in specific tasks and they are always dogs.
- Companion animals, however, provide support, therapy, or emotional help to their owners.
When a tenant has a service animal, you need to allow that animal without any questions. You cannot ask why they need it or demand an explanation of their disability. Companion animals, however, can be questioned carefully. They are prescribed by healthcare providers, and you can ask your tenant for a copy of a letter or other documentation from their doctor or provider. This should outline why the animal is necessary.
- Section 8 Tenants and the Leasing Process
The Tenant Protection Act was passed in 2019 and went into effect in 2020. This law is best known for statewide rent control and just causes evictions, but there’s also something in it that applies to Section 8 tenants and whether they can apply to rent your property. Yes, they can.
Those housing vouchers that Section 8 tenants receive can be used as proof of income. It cannot matter how tenants make their money when they apply to live in your home. As long as they have the required income that meets your screening criteria, you must consider them.
Previously, landlords could advertise “No Section 8” when marketing properties. That is not the case any longer. You must consider every applicant, regardless of income type.
