The Fair Housing Act: Regulations on Emotional Support Animals.

1. Race and Color: The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to deny housing or offer different terms based on race or color.
2. Religion: Discrimination based on religion is prohibited, ensuring that all individuals have equal access to housing opportunities.
3. Sex: This includes protections against gender discrimination, and ensuring equal treatment regardless of your sex.
4. National Origin: You cannot be denied housing or treated unfairly because of your nationality or ethnic background.
5. Familial Status: This protection ensures that families with children are not discriminated against in housing-related matters.
6. Disability: The law protects reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities, ensuring they can accommodate their emotional support animal in housing.

Recognizing housing discrimination can be tricky, as it isn’t always clear. Here are some signs that you may be facing discrimination:

• If you’re offered different lease terms, higher rent, or additional fees based on your race, religion, or the presence of an emotional support animal, this may be discriminatory.
• A landlord or seller refuses to rent or sell to you, despite your qualifications, due to your race, color, religion, or a disability that requires an assistance animal.

If you believe you’ve been a victim of housing discrimination, you have several options:

1. Document Everything: Keep records of all communications and transactions related to the discrimination.
2. File a Complaint: You can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD investigates and enforces the Fair Housing Act.
3. Seek Legal Assistance: Consult with an attorney who specializes in housing discrimination to explore your legal options.

There are certain exemptions to the Fair Housing Act in specific situations where the law’s anti-discrimination provisions do not apply. These exemptions include:

1. Owner-Occupied Buildings with Four or Fewer Units: If the owner lives in one of the units, this type of housing is exempt from the Fair Housing Act.
2. Single-Family Homes Sold or Rented Without a Broker: If the owner owns three or fewer single-family homes and does not use a broker to sell or rent them, the property is exempt.
3. Housing Operated by Religious Organizations or Private Clubs: If these organizations limit occupancy to their members, they may be exempt from the Fair Housing Act.
4. Housing for older persons: A community qualifies as housing for older persons and is exempt from the prohibition against familial status discrimination if:
• HUD has determined that it is specifically designed for and occupied by elderly persons under a federal, state, or local government program;
• it is 100% occupied by persons 62 or older; or
• it houses at least one person 55 or older in at least 80% of the occupied units and adheres to a policy that demonstrates an intent to house persons 55 or older.

These exemptions to the Fair Housing Act are important to understand, especially if you are navigating the housing market in one of these categories.

Under the Fair Housing Act, paying for a reasonable modification in a rental unit typically falls on the tenant requesting the modification. A reasonable modification refers to a physical change made to the rental property to accommodate the tenant’s disability, such as installing grab bars in the bathroom, widening doorways, or adding a ramp for wheelchair access.

However, there are some important details to consider:

1. Restoration Requirement: The tenant may be required to restore the property to its original condition when moving out, especially if the modification affects the next tenant’s ability to use the space.
2. Federally Assisted Housing: In certain cases, such as when the housing is federally assisted, the landlord may be required to pay for the modification.
3. Reasonable Accommodations: It’s important to distinguish between a reasonable modification and a reasonable accommodation. While the tenant typically pays for modifications, accommodations like policy adjustments (e.g., allowing an emotional support animal) are usually the landlord’s responsibility.