The fair housing and civil rights laws affect Landlords and Tenant just as they do seller and purchasers. All persons must have access to housing of their choice without any differentiation in the terms and conditions because of their race, color, religion, familial status (the presence of children under the age of 18), disability, or gender. State and local municipalities may have their own fair housing laws that add protected classes such as age and sexual orientation. Withholding an apartment that is available for rent, segregating certain persons in separate sections of an apartment complex or parts of a building, and charging different amounts for rent or security deposits to persons in the protected classes all constitute violations of the law.
It is important that Landlords realize that changes in the laws stemming from the federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 significantly alter past practices, particularly as they affect individuals with disabilities and families with children. The fair housing laws require that the same Tenant criteria be applied to families with children as they are applied to adults. A Landlord cannot charge a different amount of rent or security deposit because of a child(ren) or a pregnant woman. While Landlords have historically argued that children are noisy and destructive, the fact is that many adults are also noisy and destructive.
