What is Housing Discrimination?

Housing discrimination is defined as when an individual or family is not treated the same as another with regards to renting or buying a home. This can be seen by not allowing a certain race to rent a home, not renting to a family that has children of a certain age, and so on and so forth. There are various laws governing housing discrimination with the main law used in these cases being the Fair Housing Act also referred to as Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. The law does not pertain to all housing facilities however; most apartment buildings are included unless they were specifically built as a senior dwelling or other specific rules. Other facilities such as houses and townhouses may be included. This does not warrant discrimination as only those that are of a certain age would be able to live in the property. However, if the property rents to all ages, then it would be discrimination to turn someone away due to age only. You cannot be turned away from renting or buying a home due to your color, national origin, race, sex, religion, familial status, or handicap. Familial status is the make up of your family, such as if you have young children or if you are pregnant. If you believe you have been a victim of housing discrimination, you should contact a housing discrimination lawyer in your state to learn if your rights have been violated and discuss whether you can receive compensation for damages.