Massachusetts Fair Housing Act: An Overview

As a landlord in Massachusetts, you have legal obligations to abide by. Among these is the FHA. It is a federal housing law that requires mortgage lenders, home sellers, and landlord to engage in non-discriminatory practices when it comes to housing matters.

Violating the federal Fair Housing law can not only hurt your reputation, but can also make you liable to hefty fines. In today’s article, we’re going to explain the Fair Housing law in detail so you can become an even better landlord.

What Is Fair Housing?

The fair housing law were first put before Congress in 1966. It was meant to address the rampant discrimination that existed in housing-related matters at the time. However, it wasn’t until 1968 that Congress finally passed the legislation after it had lay dormant for two years.

The state and federal law are also known as Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act. It prohibits discrimination concerning the sale, unit, and financing of housing based on 7 protected classes.

The protected housing classes under the law are: race, color, nationality, religion, sex, familial status, and disability.

Does Massachusetts State Law Add Extra Protections?

Yes, it does! Apart from the 7 protected classes at the federal level, Massachusetts the fair housing law add another 7 classes to the list. The extra protections are: income source, sexual orientation, genetic information, military status, marital status, age, and gender identity.

Who Oversees Fair Housing in Massachusetts?

At the federal law level, it is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that oversees fair housing law. At the state level, though, the government agency that handles housing discrimination is the state’s Attorney General Civil Rights Division.

What Are Some Examples of Discriminatory Practices That Landlords Must Avoid?

State and federal fair housing law prohibit discrimination on the following points:

• Discrimination based on race. You cannot ask a prospective tenant questions regarding their race, when providing housing.
• Discrimination based on skin color. As a landlord, you must treat a tenant of all skin colors equally and fairly.
• Discrimination based on religion. You must not refuse to provide rental housing, hold the current or prospective tenant to different eligibility standards, or even try to evict them because of their religion.
• Discrimination based on nationality. It’s wrong to show preference or limitation based on a prospective tenant’s nationality. Such discrimination can be based either on their language, country of birth, or ancestral origins.
• Discrimination based on familial status. As far as familial status is concerned under the FHA, whether a tenant is single, married, or divorced should be none of your concern as a landlord. The only exception here is for housing for older persons, which includes senior housing facilities.
• Discrimination based on sex. It’d be against the law for you to use sex as a determinant when renting out your home. You must treat all genders equally in all matters.
• Discrimination based on disability. A disabled tenant has an equal right to enjoy their rented premises. For this reason, landlords or property owners have an obligation to make reasonable accommodations and reasonable physical modifications to their rental units whenever requested.

Other actions that may qualify as discriminatory as per the Fair Housing laws include the following.

• Refusing provide rental housing to a tenant or charging them higher housing rent based on either one of the protected classes.
• Steering a tenant away from a particular property based on one of the protected classes under the FHA.
• Discrimination against a tenant based on any protected class.
• Changing the terms of the lease agreement for any different tenant.
• Retaliating against your tenant for reporting you to the fair housing authorities is against the law.
• Creating rules that treat any tenant with children differently than renters without them.
• Showing preference or limitation in your rental advertisements.
• Increasing the security deposit for any kind of tenant is against the la.

Are There Exemptions to Fair Housing Laws?

Yes, there are! There are a few, very limited exemptions to Fair Housing laws. They include the following.

• housing single-family homes that the owner rents out without using an agent or real estate agents. The owner must not own more than 3 such homes at a time, though.
• Housing for persons aged at least 55 years.
• Housing with a maximum of 4 units, if the owner of the property dwells in one of the units.
• Housing operated by religious organizations or clubs.

What Does the Fair Housing Laws Say About a Disabled Tenant?

Both the Federal Fair Housing law and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) work conjunctively when it comes to providing protections for persons with disabilities in housing.

But first things first, what qualifies as a disability? According to ADA, a disability is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. The following are common examples of disabilities.

• Alcoholism
• HIV/AIDS
• Intellectual disabilities
• Visual impairments, such as blindness
• Hearing impairments, such as deafness
• Mental illness
• Mobility impairments
• Drug addiction
• Anything else that limits major life activities

As a landlord, you have a responsibility under the law to make reasonable housing accommodations and modifications upon request by the tenant. Examples include the following.

• Installing a grab bar in the bathroom.
• Permitting a tenant to transfer to the ground-floor unit.
• Assigning an accessible parking space for a tenant with mobility impairment.

How Can Landlords Ensure They Abide by the Fair Housing Act?

The following tips should help you stay compliant with Fair Housing laws.

• Use non-discriminatory language when advertising your rental property. Avoid statements such as “No Kids Allowed”.
• Keep the rental pricing consistent for any potential tenant. Charging a tenant differently would obviously be discriminatory.

Ask the right questions during the tenant screening exercise. For example: how many people will you be living with? When are you looking to move in? Why are you moving? Certain questions should be a no-no, however. Examples include the following: How many children do you have? Where are you originally from?

Bottom Line

Now you’re well conversant with the Massachusetts Fair Housing laws. But if you still have questions or need expert help in managing your rental property, Howzer Property Management can help. Howzer Property Management is a top-rated property management company in Plymouth, MA with the best property managers. Get in touch to learn more.

This blog should not be used as a substitute for legal advice from a licensed attorney in your state. Laws change, and this post might not be updated at the time of your reading. Please contact us for any questions you have in regards to this content or any other aspect of your property management needs.