Fair Housing Defined Fair Housing History Historical Recap Familial Status Handicapped Persons Mobile Home Parks and Federal Fair Housing Law State Law v. Federal Law—Which Law Prevails? Fair Housing Exemptions Housing For Older Persons Exemption Condominiums & Homeowners Associations Unenforcable Restrictions Reporting Acts of Discrimination Enforcement Case Studies Fair Housing DefinedThe basic concept of fair housing is that every person has the same fundamental right to purchase, lease, or occupy residential real property.
Fair Housing HistoryFederal fair housing laws prohibit housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin. This resulted from earlier constitutional rights and many earlier laws. Whether you are a broker, new sales associate, or an experienced sales associate, it is important to understand how current fair housing laws evolved.
Declaration of Independence: First, the Declaration of Independence affirmed that "all men were created equal," but the U.S. Constitution said that slaves were considered to be "three-fifths of a person."
Dred Scott v. Sanford: As a result of the Dred Scott decision in 1856, the Supreme Court determined that black persons had only the rights or privileges granted by those who held the power or the government, and had no rights which "the white man was bound to respect."
Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments: After the War Between the States, there was a flurry of legislative activity about granting full citizenship to former slaves.
Civil Rights Act of 1866: Commonly known as Title VIII of the Federal Fair Housing law. The 1866 post-Civil War statute protects the rights of all persons to "inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold and convey real and personal property." This statute was a necessary congressional step to implement the civil rights of freed slaves. This statute prohibits discrimination based on race and national origin. This statute, however, was largely ignored and rarely enforced for the first 100 years of its existence.
Plessy v. Ferguson: In 1896, a Supreme Court decision effectively halted any further development toward true racial equality by holding that "separate but equal" facilities are constitutionally permissible. This decision was reversed 58 years later, in 1954, by the Brown v. the Topeka Board of Education Supreme Court decision.
The Civil Rights Act of 1968 (also known as Fair Housing Act): On June 17, 1968, the United States Supreme Court handed down its opinion in the case of Joseph Lee Jones, et ux., Petitioners v. Alfred H. Mayer Co. et al. (Jones v. Mayer)
On September 2, 1965, Jones filed a complaint in the District court for the Eastern District of Missouri, alleging that "the respondents (Mayer Co.) had refused to sell them a home in the Paddock Woods community of St. Louis County for the sole reason that the petitioner, Joseph Lee Jones, is a Negro." From this landmark case, we now have a whole new all encompassing set of rules prohibiting discrimination on the part of owners of property and their agents.
In Jones v. Mayer, the Supreme Court interpreted and applied an Act of Congress, first enacted in 1866 (now U.S. Code, para 1982), and rested its constitutionality on the Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, the amendment prohibiting slavery. As so interpreted, Section 1982 applies everywhere, to everyone in the United States.
To react to changing social and economic patterns in America, Congress adopted Title VIII in 1968. That law prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion and sex. It is the major basis for most current federal fair housing activities. The passage of this statute was a watershed mark in the nation's commitment to equal housing opportunity.
Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988: On September 13, 1988, the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 was amended. The most notable changes include adding familial status (families with children) and handicap, as protected classes and increasing penalties for violation of the Act.
Congress clarified the housing exemption for older citizens in the Housing for Older Persons Act of 1995. It is now a violation of federal law to refuse housing to anyone with children under the age of 18 or anyone who is pregnant, except when such housing is designated as housing for older persons.
Historical Recap1776 Declaration of Independence
1789 United States Constitution
1856 Dred Scott Decision
1866 Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments
to the United States Constitution
1866 Civil Rights Act of 1866
1874 Plessy v. Ferguson
1968 The Civil Rights Act of 1968
1968 Jones v. Mayer
1974 Fair Housing Act
1988 Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988
1995 Housing for Older Persons Act of 1995
Q. The landmark case of Joseph Lee Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co. was based on the claim that the Mayer Company refused to sell to Mr. Jones because he:
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