Fair Housing Laws & Regulations | Property Management in California City

Fair housing laws begin with the Fair Housing Act, a federal law that makes it illegal to discriminate against seven classes of people when you’re renting out your property. You cannot deny an otherwise qualified tenant on the basis of:

This may seem simple enough; it’s rare that a landlord will intentionally discriminate against anyone, especially if that person has verifiable income and good rental references. However, it’s easy to discriminate unintentionally, especially when you’re marketing your property and screening applications. In your ad, if you say your property is “great for families” or “near churches,” you could be seen as discriminating. You have to be careful with your wording, and you have to be consistent with your screening. Treat every single application exactly the same. 

One of the best ways to protect yourself against claims of discrimination is to provide every applicant with a written list of your rental criteria. This will provide any potential tenant with a set of standards that you use to approve or deny applications. Having your criteria and your process documented will help you remain consistent and demonstrate your compliance with fair housing principles. 

In the state of California, there are a few other protected classes against whom you cannot discriminate in housing. These go beyond the federal laws and include:

The state fair housing laws are enforced by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). Again, your documented process and enforcement of your own policies and procedures will ensure you don’t discriminate unintentionally and will keep you out of court. 

If you think you’ve got a good understanding of the protected classes and how not to discriminate against them, that’s a good first step. However, these laws are always changing, and they’re always being interpreted in different ways. You need to keep up with these changes when you’re renting out property in California. For example, disparate impact is a term that’s widely used when landlords are looking at criminal histories during the screening process. Disparate impact can unfavorably affect one group of people more than others, leaving them vulnerable to housing discrimination. 

There are also service and support animals, which are treated differently than pets when someone with a disability applies for your property. You’ll need to know how to tell the difference and what kind of documentation you can and cannot ask for. 

 

We are happy to help you navigate the legal waters when it comes to your California City rental property. Please feel free to contact us at JBL & Associates for more information.