Fair Housing: Protections Against Rental Discrimination

The federal Fair Housing Act makes it illegal for a landlord to refuse to rent to you, offer you different terms, or advertise a preference because of your race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or familial status (having children under 18 or being pregnant). Many states and cities protect more characteristics, such as source of income (including housing vouchers), sexual orientation, gender identity, and marital status. You have one year from the last discriminatory act to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and two years to sue in court.

Which characteristics does federal law protect?

These seven characteristics are often called protected classes. The act works alongside the repair, deposit, and privacy rights covered in your basic rights as a tenant. Two of the seven have legal definitions that decide who is covered:

• Familial status covers a household with a child under 18 who lives with a parent, a legal custodian, or someone the parent or custodian designates in writing. It also covers anyone who is pregnant or is in the process of getting legal custody of a child.
• Disability means a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having one. Current illegal drug use is not covered.

Sex discrimination includes sexual harassment, such as a manager who demands sexual favors in exchange for a repair or a lease. The act does not name sexual orientation or gender identity. In 2021, HUD began treating discrimination on those grounds as sex discrimination under Executive Order 13988, but it withdrew that guidance effective September 17, 2025. HUD's withdrawal notice says it does not affect your right to sue in court. If you were treated differently because of your sexual orientation or gender identity, file with a state or local agency whose law names those characteristics, such as California's or New York's.

Two kinds of owners are exempt from most of the federal act:

• An owner who lives in a building with four or fewer units and rents out the others.
• An owner of no more than three single-family homes who rents one out without using a real estate broker or agent.

Even these exempt owners cannot publish an ad, notice, or statement that shows a discriminatory preference. State laws can also reach owners the federal act exempts: New York's exemption for owner-occupied buildings stops at two units, so an owner who lives in a three- or four-unit building in New York is covered by state law.

Housing for older people has a narrower exemption. A community where every resident is 62 or older, or where at least 80% of occupied units have a resident 55 or older and the community publishes and follows an age policy that meets HUD's rules, may turn away families with children. It must still follow the rest of the act, including the bans on race, religion, sex, national origin, and disability discrimination.

Which protections do states and cities add?

State and local laws often protect more characteristics than federal law does. California and New York, for example, protect these in addition to the federal seven:

New York's law also protects your status as a victim of domestic violence; see tenant protections for domestic violence survivors.

Source-of-income laws matter most if you pay rent with a Housing Choice Voucher, often called Section 8, or other rental assistance. Where they apply, a landlord cannot turn you away or treat you differently because part of your rent comes from a voucher, and in California an ad that says "no Section 8" violates state law. A March 2026 compilation by the Poverty & Race Research Action Council lists 19 states plus Washington, D.C., with statewide source-of-income laws, including California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington, along with more than 100 cities and counties that have their own. Some state laws exempt small landlords: Michigan's applies to landlords with five or more rental units. Some states, including Florida, Indiana, and Texas, limit or bar these local laws.

New York's voucher protection is in dispute. In March 2026, a state appeals court (the Appellate Division, Third Department) held that requiring landlords to accept vouchers is unconstitutional because voucher contracts require landlords to consent to government inspections of their property and records without a warrant. The compilation reports that the law still stands while the case is appealed.

What does illegal discrimination look like?

Discrimination can happen at any step, from the listing to the end of the lease. Each example below is drawn from the act or HUD's regulations, and each is illegal when it is based on a protected characteristic:

• Ads and listings. Wording or images that signal who is welcome, such as "adults only," "no children," or "Christians preferred," or choosing where to advertise so certain groups never see the listing.
• Showings and availability. Telling you a unit is rented when it is not, steering you toward certain buildings or floors, or discouraging you by exaggerating a unit's problems or saying you would not be comfortable there.
• Rent, deposits, and repairs. Charging a higher rent or deposit, writing different lease terms, delaying repairs, or limiting your use of a pool, laundry room, or other shared facilities.
• Screening. Holding some applicants to stricter income, credit, or application requirements than others, or asking only applicants of one national origin for immigration papers. See also your rights during tenant screening.
• Disability. Refusing a reasonable accommodation, meaning an exception to a rule or policy that you need because of a disability, such as allowing an assistance animal in a no-pets building. Refusing a reasonable modification, such as grab bars you install at your own expense, is also illegal, though the landlord may require you to restore the interior when you move out where that is reasonable. See disability accommodations and modifications and service animals vs. pets.
• Eviction, harassment, and retaliation. Evicting you because of your guests' race or religion, demanding sexual favors, threatening you, or retaliating because you complained, filed a complaint, or helped someone else with one.

How do you file a fair housing complaint?

1. Write down what happened. Note dates, names, the property address, and what was said, and save the ad, texts, and emails. HUD asks for your name and address, the name and address of the person or company you are reporting, the address of the housing, a short description of the events, and their dates.
2. File with HUD within one year of the last discriminatory act. You can file online at hud.gov/reporthousingdiscrimination, by calling 1-800-669-9777, or by mailing HUD's form to your regional Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.
3. Or file with your state or local agency. HUD may refer your complaint to a state or local agency in its Fair Housing Assistance Program. If your claim rests on a characteristic that only state or local law covers, such as source of income, file with that agency directly. California's Civil Rights Department, for example, accepts housing complaints within one year of the discriminatory act.
4. Expect an investigation and settlement talks. HUD notifies the landlord, collects evidence, and tries to help both sides reach a voluntary agreement. If HUD finds reasonable cause to believe discrimination occurred, it issues a charge, and either side has 20 days to choose a trial in federal court. Otherwise a HUD administrative law judge hears the case, and a HUD attorney represents you at no cost. Relief can include your out-of-pocket losses, damages for emotional distress, an order making the housing available, and attorney's fees.
5. You can also sue. You can file a lawsuit in federal or state court within two years of the last discriminatory act, even if you also filed with HUD, and the time HUD spends on your complaint does not count toward the two years. You may lose the right to a separate federal lawsuit if you sign a HUD conciliation agreement (the settlement HUD helps both sides reach) or an administrative law judge has started a hearing on your complaint. A court can award actual and punitive damages and attorney's fees, and it may appoint a lawyer if you cannot afford one.