The federal government’s effort to guarantee equal housing opportunities to all U.S. citizens began with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1866. This law prohibits any type of discrimination based on race.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 1896 decision in Plessy v. Ferguson established the “separate but equal” doctrine of “legalized” racial segregation. A series of court decisions and federal laws in the 20 years between 1948 and 1968 attempted to address housing inequities resulting from Plessy. Those efforts, however, often addressed only specific aspects of the housing market (such as federally funded housing programs). As a result, their impact was limited. Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, however, prohibited specific discriminatory practices throughout the real estate industry.
Jones v. MayerÂ
In 1968, the Supreme Court heard the case of Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Company, 392 U.S. 409 (1968). In its decision, the court upheld the Civil Rights Act of 1866. This decision is important because although the federal law exempts individual Homeowners and certain groups, the 1866 law prohibits all racial discrimination without exception. A person who is discriminated against on the basis of race may still recover damages under the 1866 law. Where race is involved, no exceptions apply.
The U.S. Supreme Court has expanded the definition of the term race to include ancestral and ethnic characteristics, including certain physical, cultural, or linguistic characteristics that are shared by a group with a common national origin. These rulings are significant because discrimination on the basis of race, as it is now defined, affords due process of complaints under the provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1866.
Fair Housing Act
Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, and national origin. It also threw out the “Separate but Equal” provision.
In 1974, the Housing and Community Development Act added sex to the list of protected classes. In 1988, the Fair Housing Amendments Act added disability and familial status (that is, the presence of children). Today, these laws together are known as the federal Fair Housing Act.
The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin. The act also prohibits discrimination against individuals because of their association with persons in the protected classes.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) administers the Fair Housing Act. HUD has established rules and regulations that further interpret impacted housing practices. In addition, HUD distributes the equal housing opportunity poster. This poster declares that the office in which it is displayed promises to adhere to the Fair Housing Act and pledges support for affirmative marketing and advertising programs. The fair housing poster should be displayed in every real estate office.
In 1988, Congress passed the Fair Housing Amendments Act that expanded federal civil rights protections. In addition to race, color, religion, and national origin being protected classes, the act extended coverage to include families with children and persons with physical or mental disabilities. The act also made the penalties more severe and added damages for noneconomic injuries (e.g., humiliation, embarrassment, inconvenience, and mental anguish).
In 1995, Congress passed the Housing for Older Persons Act (HOPA), which repealed the requirement that 55-and-older housing have “significant facilities and services” designed for seniors. HOPA still requires that at least 80 percent of occupied units have one person aged 55 or older living there. The act prohibits the awarding of monetary damages against those who, in good faith, reasonably believed that property designated as housing for older persons was exempt from familial status provisions of the Fair Housing Act.
