Back to Real Estate News & Issues

Know Your Fair Housing Rights!

Louisiana's 12,000+ REALTORS are committed to the cause of Fair Housing and working with other members of the community to assure every citizen of Louisiana of their right to fair housing without regard to race color, creed, national origin, sex, familial status and handicap. Below is more information on Fair Housing that you need to know, including details on the U.S. Fair Housing Law, Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968.

Warning Signs of Discrimination

Housing discrimination can occur in a variety of ways. Listed below are some of the warning signs of discrimination based on race, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or handicap:

• Refusing to rent to or sell a house
• Advertising or posting notice about the sale or rental of a dwelling where that ad or notice indicates any preference, limitation or discrimination
• Differing terms, conditions or privileges for certain people
• Denying falsely that housing is available for inspection, sale or rent
• Intimidating, interfering with or coercing a person to prevent them from buying or leasing a dwelling.

Disabilities

If you or someone associated with you:

• Has a physical or mental disability (including hearing mobility and visual impairments, chronic alcoholism, chronic mental illness, AIDS, AIDS Related Complex and mental retardation) that substantially limits one or more major life activities
• Has a record of such a disability or
• Is regarded as having such a disability

Your landlord may not refuse to let you make reasonable modifications to your dwelling or common use areas, at your expense, if necessary for the handicapped person to use the housing. (Where reasonable, the landlord may permit changes only if you agree to restore the property to its original condition when you move.) Nor may they refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services if necessary for the handicapped person to use the housing.

Example: A building with a "no pets" policy must allow a visually impaired tenant to keep a guide dog.

Example: An apartment complex that offers tenants ample, unassigned parking must honor a request from a mobility impaired tenant for a reserved space near her apartment if necessary to assure that she can have access to her apartment.

However, housing need not be made available to a person who is a direct threat to the health or safety of others or who currently uses illegal drugs.

Families

Unless a building or community qualifies as housing for older persons, it may not discriminate based on familial status. That is, it may not discriminate against families in which one or more children under 18 live with:

• A parent
• A person who has legal custody of the child or children or
• The designee of the parent or legal custodian (with the parent or custodian's written permission).
• Familial status protection also applies to pregnant women and anyone securing legal custody of a child under 18.

Housing for older persons is exempt from the prohibition against familial status discrimination if:

• The Attorney General has determined that it is specifically designed for and occupied by elderly persons under a federal, state or local government program or
• It is occupied solely by persons who are 62 or older or
• It houses at least one person who is 55 or older in at least 80 percent of the occupied units; has significant services and facilities for older persons; and adheres to a published policy statement that demonstrates an intent to house persons who are 55 or older. The requirement for significant services and facilities is waived if providing them is not feasible and the housing is necessary to provide important housing opportunities for older persons.

A transition period permits residents on or before September 13, 1988, to continue living in the housing regardless of their age without interfering with the exemption.

What's Prohibited

In the sale and rental of housing, no one may take any of the following actions based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or handicap:

• Refusal to rent or sell housing
• Refusal to negotiate for housing
• Make housing unavailable
• Deny a dwelling
• Set different terms, conditions or privileges for sale or rental of a dwelling
• Provide different housing services or facilities
• Falsely deny that housing is available for inspection, sale or rental
• For profit, persuade owners to sell or rent (blockbusting) or
• Deny anyone access to or membership in a facility or service (such as a multiple listing service) related to the sale or rental of housing.

In mortgage lending, no one may take any of the following actions based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or handicap:

• Refusal to make a mortgage loan
• Refusal to provide information regarding loans
• Impose different terms or conditions on a loan
• Discrimination in appraising property
• Set different terms or conditions for purchasing a loan.

In addition, It is illegal for anyone to:

• Threaten, coerce, intimidate or interfere with anyone exercising a fair housing right or assisting others who exercise that right.
• Advertise or make any statement that indicates a limitation or preference based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or handicap. This prohibition against discriminatory advertising applies to single-family and owner-occupied housing that is otherwise exempt from the Open Housing Act.

Filing a Complaint

The Louisiana Attorney General's office handles the following types of fair housing discrimination complaints: real estate, mortgage and lending, and rental dwellings of any type (apartments, rental homes and trailer parks). If their office cannot handle the complaint, it will be forwarded to the appropriate agency. If this occurs, the complainant will be notified. Once they receive a complaint, the following will occur:

The complainant will receive a letter from the Attorney General's office stating they have received the complaint and that an investigation of the allegations will be conducted.

The Attorney General will also notify the business (respondent) in writing that a complaint has been filed with their office. All parties listed on the complaint form will then be contacted for an interview.

At this time, the complainant will be asked to submit all information which supports his/her claim of discrimination.

The respondent will also be given an opportunity to produce all documentation which supports his/her claim that there was no discrimination involved.

All parties will be provided an opportunity to conciliate or resolve the matter during the course of the investigation. Once the investigation has been concluded, the Louisiana Attorney General's Office will determine if the preponderance of the evidence gathered supports a finding of discrimination.

If the evidence does support a finding of discrimination, a lawsuit will be filed in state court by the Louisiana Attorney General's Office on behalf of the complainant. If the preponderance of the evidence gathered does not support a finding of discrimination, the Louisiana Attorney General's Office will close the complaint. The complainant, however, has two years from the date of the incident to file a lawsuit with a private attorney.

If You Need Help

The Department of Justice (Department) is ready to help with any problems related to housing discrimination. If you think your rights have been violated, you may fill out a Housing Discrimination Complaint Form, write them a letter or telephone their hotline. You have one year after an alleged violation to file a complaint, so you should file it as soon as possible.

What to Tell Them:

• Your name and address
• The name and address of the person your complaint is against (the respondent)
• The address or other identification of the housing involved
• A short description of the alleged violation (the event that caused you to believe your rights were violated)
  The date(s) of the alleged violation

Where to Write:

Send the Housing Discrimination Complaint Form or a letter to:

Louisiana Department of Justice
Public Protection Division
P.O. Box 94095
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804-9095

Where to call:

Louisiana Department of Justice: 1-800-273-5718.

Back to Real Estate News & Issues