Both you and your broker must comply with a number of civil rights acts that are intended to protect the public from unfair discrimination in the sale of real estate.
The most sweeping, the Civil Rights Act of 1968, forbids discrimination on the basis of race or color. The law contains no exceptions, and it is clear that refusal to deal evenhandedly with a member of a minority race lays the seller and the broker open to severe penalties. Complaints are handled in federal courts.
More complex is the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968. With some exceptions, this law forbids discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, country of origin, sex, handicap, and the presence of children in a family. Any complaint receives prompt investigation.5 / Some Legal Matters
In addition, your state might forbid discrimination based on other grounds: age, marital status, record of convictions, government assistance as a source of income, or political affiliation.
These prohibitions against discrimination apply not only to selling real estate but also to granting credit and renting living space.
Old-fashioned restrictive covenants that are contrary to these laws, such as a deed restriction forbidding the sale of property in a certain area to certain ethnic groups, are now illegal. Any such covenants remaining cannot be enforced. |
