Fair Housing vs. Unfair Housing

Do you know the difference?

Knowing the difference between fair housing and unfair housing isn't as obvious as you might think. This blog aims to present a variety of important and interesting fair housing issues.

If you're an apartment professional, avoid costly mistakes by reading the stories of others who — even with good intentions — learned compliance lessons the hard way. (For the easy way, click here.)

If you live in an apartment, get familiar with your rights when it comes to housing discrimination, as well as your options for seeking justice.


Tuesday, November 19, 2013

National Association of Realtors® Adds Gender Identity to Ethical Code

Members of the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) who discriminate based on gender identity are now in violation of their ethical code, following a vote conducted on Monday, November 11, which added the protected class, according to a report from REALTOR® Magazine.

This is the second time that the REALTORS® Code of Ethics was amended to include a protected class that's not a part of the Fair Housing Act (FHA). Two years ago, NAR members voted to add sexual orientation as a protected class to their ethical code (see "NAR Bars Sexual Orientation Discrimination… Is Congress Next?").

Is the recent addition of sexual orientation and now gender identity a sign of where federal legislation might be headed?

What do you think?