Skip to main content

Fair Housing

Discrimination in Housing Based Upon Sex, Including Sexual Harassment Video

Discrimination in Housing Based Upon Sex, Including Sexual Harassment

The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to discriminate in housing on the basis of sex. Sexual harassment in housing includes demands for sex or sexual acts in order to buy, rent, or continue renting a home. It also includes other unwelcome sexual conduct that makes it hard to keep living in or feel comfortable in your home. To learn more about sexual harassment in housing, explore the information here.

WHAT IS FAIR HOUSING?

Title VIII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act, commonly known as the "Fair Housing Act," prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, purchase, leasing, financing and/or advertising of housing based upon:

  • Race
  • Color
  • Religion
  • Sex (including sexual harassment)
  • National origin
  • Familial status
  • Disability

*Familial status protects children under the age of 18 living with parent or guardian and pregnant women.

President Lyndon Johnson signed the bill into law on April 11, 1968 - seven days after the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Michigan Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act also prohibits housing discrimination based on age and marital status. Further restrictions may also be imposed by municipalities pursuant to local ordinance.

Fair housing is not just an important tool for eliminating discrimination; it also helps to strengthen families, communities, businesses, and our overall economy. Fulfillment of the letter and spirit of the law means that every community can be a place of opportunity where people can live in diverse, inclusive, accessible neighborhoods with quality schools, healthy foods, meaningful jobs, health care, green spaces, quality credit, and the other opportunities that frame and affect our lives. (Source: National Fair Housing Alliance)

Click here to view more information on your rights under the Fair Housing Act.

Fair Housing Resources Continued

What is Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH)?

AFFH is a legal requirement that federal agencies and federal grantees further the purposes of the Fair Housing Act. AFFH means taking meaningful actions that address significant disparities in housing needs and in access to opportunity, including:

  • Replacing segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns
  • Transforming racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas of opportunity
  • Fostering and maintaining compliance with civil rights and fair housing laws

HUD states in the Summary of its final 2015 rule on Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing that “[t]he Fair Housing Act not only prohibits discrimination but, in conjunction with other statutes, directs HUD’s program participants to take significant actions to overcome historic patterns of segregation, achieve truly balanced and integrated living patterns, promote fair housing choice, and foster inclusive communities.”

To learn more about HUD's goals to eliminate segregation and discriminatory practices in programs administered with its funds, read:

AFFH Final Rule
HUD's Fair Housing Planning Guide