What is Fair Housing?
The set of federal, state, and local civil rights laws that protect individuals based on their membership in a protected class from individual or institution-driven discrimination in housing transactions.
Who is Protected?
Federal Protected Classes
- Race
- Color
- National Origin
- Religion
- Gender
- Familial Status (families with children under 18)
- Disability
Oregon’s Additional State Protected Classes
- Marital Status
- Source of income (Section 8/Housing Choice Vouchers)
- Sexual Orientation
- Gender Identity
- Local Ordinances
- Domestic Violence Survivors protected under Oregon landlord-tenant law
Types of Discrimination
- Disparate Treatment: People are treated differently in similar situations based on one of the protected classes.
- Example: A property management company does not consider rental applications from people of a specific racial group or groups (intentional discrimination based on race).
- Disparate Impact (Hud Rule Definition): A practice that actually or predictably results in a disparate impact on a group of persons or creates, increases, reinforces, or perpetuates segregated housing patterns because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.
- Example: A property management company will only consider full-time employment in calculating the income of prospective tenants. This results in disparate impact on people who receive disability payments (discrimination based on disability).