Federal and Florida fair housing law

Equal access to housing

Federal fair housing law and Florida's Fair Housing Act protect against discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability. Familial status includes children under eighteen living with a parent or legal custodian; Florida expressly protects pregnancy and the process of securing legal custody. Section 1982 separately protects citizens' equal property rights regardless of race.

Recognize the conduct

Discrimination includes refusing negotiations, imposing different terms, discriminatory advertisements, and falsely saying an available dwelling is unavailable. Steering directs buyers toward or away from neighborhoods because of protected characteristics. Blockbusting uses representations about protected groups entering a neighborhood to induce sales or rentals for profit. Discriminatory redlining denies lending access based on protected characteristics rather than legitimate lending factors. Federal protection also reaches residential appraisals and access to multiple-listing services. Threatening someone for asserting fair housing rights or helping another person assert them is prohibited.

Disability and exemptions

A reasonable accommodation changes a rule, policy, practice, or service; a reasonable modification physically changes premises. Under the general federal rule, necessary reasonable modifications are permitted at the disabled person's expense. In rentals, reasonable interior restoration conditions may apply. Florida permits an approved, disability-related emotional support animal accommodation without extra compensation for the animal. When disability is not apparent, the provider may request reliable supporting information.

An exemption is limited, not blanket immunity. Certain owner transactions and owner-occupied small properties have narrow federal exemptions, but discriminatory advertising remains prohibited; racial discrimination also implicates section 1982. Qualifying religious organizations and private clubs have specific exemptions for noncommercial housing. Housing for older persons receives an exemption from familial-status provisions, not from the other protected classes. The federal fifty-five-and-older category requires at least eighty percent of occupied units to have at least one occupant aged fifty-five or older, intent policies, and occupancy verification. A retirement label alone is insufficient.

Florida enforcement

A person injured, or anticipating injury, from discriminatory housing practices may complain to the Florida Commission on Human Relations. Under Florida section 760.34, the complaint must be written and verified and filed within one year after the alleged practice occurred. For exam questions, identify the protected basis, the conduct, and any precisely applicable exception before choosing the answer.