Fair Housing for Landlords and Housing Providers

What is Fair Housing?

Fair Housing laws cover most types of housing, including:

Apartments that are leased or rented
Houses or condominiums that are sold, leased or rented
Rooming houses
Cooperatives
Non-profit housing, shelters and transitional housing
Mobile home parks
Roommate situations
Housing Construction sites
Empty lots

Fair housing laws prohibit discriminatory actions against applicants/residents of housing based upon a protected class* (i.e., race, color, national origin or ancestry, family with children, religion, sex (gender), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran or military), including, but not limited to:

Refusing to rent/sell housing or saying that available housing is unavailable (i.e., expressing or publishing a preference/limitation/discrimination based upon a protected class, steering to a different housing service or facility, etc.)
Setting different terms, conditions, or privileges (i.e., establishing different rules for applicants/residents based upon a protected class)
Failing to provide reasonable accommodations or modifications to persons with disabilities
Retaliating against an applicant/resident for raising his/her fair housing rights
Enforcing a rule/policy that does not appear to be discriminatory, but that adversely affects applicants/residents of a protected class

*The list of protected classes above is current as of April 2016; however, this list is subject to change. Please check with one of the agencies listed below for the most current list.

For questions regarding fair housing laws, contact:

U.S. Dept. of Housing & Urban Development
File a complaint online
206.220.5170 (800.877.0246)
TTY 206.220.5185

Washington State Human Rights Commission
File a complaint online
360.753.6770 (800.233.3247)
TTY 800.300.7525

This information on this web site is provided for information purposes only and is not to be considered as legal advice or legal interpretation.