during their lease.
Fair Housing Act
The U.S. Fair Housing Act (FHA) was put in place in 1968 in order to protect citizens from housing discrimination, unfair renting practices, and poor housing conditions. People with low incomes, people of color, and immigrants were especially at risk of discrimination. Fair Housing Act laws are still in effect to protect against housing-related discrimination based on race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex/gender, disability, and familial status. This act has helped millions of people find homes, and protects people against discrimination, but it can leave rental property owners vulnerable and liable and open to complaints, and even lawsuits. Even if you’re not ultimately found at fault in an FHA complaint, you can still spend thousands and thousands of dollars protecting and defending yourself from the complaint in the first place. Even worse, an FHA complaint can put your reputation on the line and hurt your business, regardless of the outcome. “Bad apple” and red-flagged tenants can use FHA complaints in order to get an unfair advantage over you. If you don’t know the ins and outs of the Fair Housing Act, you could leave yourself vulnerable and open to a potential liability you never saw coming. Don’t let yourself get exposed to that; protect yourself by understanding and following all FHA laws. Consider talking to someone who knows all about Fair Housing practices and rules before you move forward with opening up your property to renters. Hire a property management lawyer to get all the facts and to understand both your renters’ rights as well as your own.
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