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 systemic 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 racial minority 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).