Today is Martin Luther King Day. Celebrate Civil Rights and the Federal Fair Housing Act.
Five days after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, the Federal Fair Housing Act was passed. It essentially extended the same discrimination protections contained within the 1964 Civil Rights Act to the housing industry.
Within the Federal Fair Housing Act, those individuals (realtors, lenders, property managers, etc) who facilitate a housing transaction must adhere to the rules of this Act.
The classes of people this act protects are:
- Color
- Disability
- Familia Status
- Parents who have one or more children under the age of 18 living with them.
- Legal guardians who have one or more children under the age of 18 living with them.
- The designee of the parent or legal guardian of a child under the age of 18. This designation must have been made in writing by the child’s parent or legal guardian.
- A person in the process of being granted legal custody of a child under the age of 18.
- Pregnant women.
- National Origin
- Race
- Religion
- Sex
Examples of discriminatory housing allegations based on membership in a protected class may include, refusal to rent, unequal terms and conditions, discriminatory financing, failure to provide reasonable accommodation or modification for a person with a disability, refusal to sell, and retaliating against someone who has exercised his/her fair housing rights. These are just a few examples.
We've come a long way since Dr. King changed the world, but we still have a ways to go. Discrimination still exists in our country, even in the housing industry. If you feel you are a victim of Federal Fair Housing, you have one year to file a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Division
