Every person has the privilege to live in a comfortable and safe dwelling, and fair housing laws work to prevent discrimination in this area and encourage equality among all residents. Rental property managers and owners may find it difficult to comprehend and comply with these requirements at times. Fair housing rules have a simple goal, but they aren’t always simple to put into effect.
Understanding fair housing laws and how they apply to you is imperative to keeping your rental properties compliant. Keep reading for a rundown of the essentials of fair housing rules, typical issues with compliance, and advice for rental property owners and managers.
Understanding Fair Housing Laws
Comprehending that various federal, state, and local rules may apply to your rental property is the initial step in understanding fair housing laws.
When most people consider fair housing laws, the federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 typically comes to mind. This regulation prohibits discrimination in housing regardless of a person’s race, color, national origin, religion, sex, handicap, or family status. The objective of the regulation is to guarantee equal access in all housing-related transactions pertaining to housing, including sales, rents, and financing.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) carry out this law, which studies complaints and works to uphold fair housing standards across the U.S. Apart from the Fair Housing Act, other federal housing laws sustain and reinforce the values of fair housing. Together, these principles work toward a more equitable housing landscape across the country.
Besides federal regulations, renters have further protection provided by numerous state and local laws. These laws include issues like eviction rights, security deposit limits, and discrimination based on a person’s income, sexual orientation, or gender identity. To keep affordable housing in high-demand areas, numerous cities have enacted rent control or stabilization laws to prevent excessive rent increases. Local tenant rights may also include protections against eviction during bad weather, access to habitability standards, and requirements for clear communication between landlords and tenants. You can get more data about housing laws in your state online.
Common Compliance Challenges for Property Owners
Aside from being familiar with the regulations, it is imperative to be aware of the most common scenarios that may result in housing law violations and how to prevent them. For instance, some common challenges rental property owners and landlords face in meeting fair housing laws often arise from prejudiced bias or the use of old-fashioned tactics.
For illustration, for some property managers and owners may find tenant screening challenging due to the fact that it is illegal to discriminate against someone due to age, familial status, or disability according federal law. Therefore, deciding beforehand that you will only rent to adults without children, for example, or that you won’t rent to people in their 20s, would both be examples of housing discrimination.
When marketing the property, property owners and managers may have comparable preferences about the kind of tenants they would want to see. As a general rule, these approaches also violate local, state and federal housing laws. By knowing these challenges and adjusting your screening and marketing methods, you can better ensure fair and equitable treatment of all prospective residents.
Best Practices for Ensuring Compliance
To prevent accidental discrimination, make sure your property management strategies are in line with fair housing laws, such as creating and obeying a standardized application process and creating standards for tenant screenings. Other best practices to ensure compliance include:
- Employ inclusive language in rental advertisements to evade prejudiced declarations or preferences.
- Be consistent with presenting the same data, following the same procedures, and executing the same follow-up actions for each applicant.
- Guarantee that your lease terms, rules, and policies are equally fair to all tenants.
- Stay well-versed about reasonable accommodations for tenants with disabilities, and respond to such requests promptly and appropriately.
- In case of future disputes or inquiries, don’t forget to keep detailed records of all applications, discussions, and decisions; make sure to record the reasons for approvals and denials as well.
- Speak with an attorney or legal expert when creating policies or handling difficult cases.
Establishing and observing a written non-discrimination policy that expresses your dedication to Fair Housing compliance is helpful to retain consistency.
Property Management Companies in Fair Housing Compliance
Experienced property managers should know all applicable local, state, and federal regulations. Moreover, as trained professionals, they have approaches to ensure that your tenant connections, screening, documentation, and other functions comply with these regulations. This can give you peacefulness and help reduce the risk of discrimination claims altogether.
Building a Fair Housing Culture
With so much at hazard in an investment property, it’s critical to be familiar with laws governing rental properties, housing, and connected issues to evade legal drawbacks more easily. Property owners can help guarantee equitable treatment for all tenants by understanding and observing fair housing laws.
Engaging with an experienced property management company such as Real Property Management NorthStar delivers the know-how to deal with the complications of fair housing rules in Rowlett and nearby areas. Contact us today or call 469-745-8199 to get more information on housing law obedience and other quality management services.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
