National Fair Housing Month
April is National Fair Housing Month, which commemorates the passage of the Fair Housing Act in April 1968. As part of its
commitment to the principles of fair housing, the Department of Real Estate (DRE) wants to remind licensees about the
important California laws intended to address housing discrimination.Prohibitions on Housing Discrimination
Many California laws relate to prohibiting discriminatory housing practices. Among these are:
- The Unruh Civil Rights Act, which protects Californians from arbitrary and intentional discrimination by business establishments,
including in housing and lending transactions, on the basis of personal characteristics; - The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), which covers real estate-related transactions and, among other things,
imposes liability for practices that have discriminatory effects, even if unintentional; and - The Holden Act, which prohibits discrimination related to housing financing.
- Refusing to negotiate the sale, rental, or financing of a property.
- Refusing to show, rent, sell, or finance a property, provide information about a property, or steering a person away from a
property. - Discriminating in soliciting or negotiating the sale or purchase of property, in loan servicing, or in soliciting or negotiating
mortgage loans. - Discriminating in the terms, conditions, or privileges of sale, rental, or financing the purchase of property.
- Representing to any person that property is not available for inspection, sale, or rental when such property is in fact available.
- Processing an application more slowly or otherwise acting to delay or avoid the sale, rental, or financing of the purchase
of property. - Refusing or failing to cooperate with or assist another real estate licensee in negotiating the sale, rental, or financing the
purchase of property. - Soliciting sales, rentals, or listings of real estate from any person, but not from another person within the same area because
of differences in a protected characteristic. - Providing information or advice to any person concerning the desirability of particular property or area that is different from
information or advice given to any other person. - Making or publishing any notice or advertisement concerning the sale, rental, or financing of the purchase of property that
indicates any preference, limitation, or discrimination. - Quoting or charging someone a price, rent, or cleaning or security deposit for a particular property that is different from the
price, rent or security deposit quoted or charged to any other person because of a difference in a protected characteristic. - Making any effort to instruct or encourage licensees to engage in any discriminatory act in violation of a federal or state fair
housing law.