RENT Magazine Q2 '21

3 IMPORTANT REMI NDERS ABOUT I LLEGAL STEER I NG

The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal for a housing provider to attempt to influence where a prospect lives due to the prospect’s race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status or disabilities.

instead add all applicable state and local protected categories. Throughout this article, the federal, state, and local protected categories will be referred to as “protected categories” to avoid repeating these categories. The two elements of a steering violation are 1) an effort to influence a prospect’s choice of a house or apartment; and 2) the housing provider’s effort is related to the prospect’s protected category. The term “housing provider” is intended to include persons or companies who are selling or leasing homes or apartments and includes all their employees. Illegal steering does not necessarily mean the housing provider is trying to exclude or otherwise injure the prospect. In other words, all steering is illegal even when it is well intentioned. There are many fair housing cases where the housing

provider was sincerely attempting to create a safer environment by suggesting that the family should live on the first floor, or away from a lagoon. The general rule is that it is up to the applicant to determine the safest location for their family, and efforts by a housing provider to encourage a wheelchair user to live only on the first floor, or to suggest that a single woman would be safer living in a different community, are illegal acts of steering and are prohibited by the Fair Housing Act. Illegal steering does not necessarily mean the housing provider is trying to

If your property is in California, the list of seven protected categories should be expanded by adding the California protected categories citizenship, immigration status, primary language, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, genetic information, marital status, source of income, military or veteran status. If your property is located in a different state, you should

The term “housing provider” includes persons or companies who are selling or leasing homes or apartments and includes all their employees.

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