Fair housing laws don’t change much, but the interpretation of how those laws are applied to rental properties often evolves. This requires you to stay up to date on all requirements, regulations, court cases, and best practices.
Fair housing mistakes are expensive.
That’s why our advice to Benicia landlords is to be over-cautious about complying with state and federal fair housing laws.
In California, fair housing laws are even stricter on a state level than the federal Fair Housing Act, which was passed in 1968.
Often, there’s confusion about what owners and landlords can do and not do when it comes to screening and advertising and even eviction and lease renewals.
Here are some of the things you need to know about fair housing and how it affects your Benicia rental property.
Federal Fair Housing Laws
The federal Fair Housing Act protects the following classes of people against discrimination in rental housing. This law applies to real estate agents, property managers, lenders, insurance agents, and anyone who has an impact on providing housing to consumers.
According to the law, you cannot discriminate or deny housing based on:
- Race.
- Skin color.
- Religion or creed.
- National origin or ancestry.
- Sex.
- Physical or mental disability.
- Familial status.
Luckily, we don’t know a lot of property owners who would intentionally discriminate against a potential tenant based on these criteria.
However, you can make unintentional mistakes when you’re advertising your property and screening tenants. You might use language that can be perceived as discriminatory. Or, if you screen two tenants to different standards, it could be seen as discrimination.
Here’s an example:
You might say, without thinking it’s a problem, that a rental home is “perfect for families.” You might call it a “bachelor pad.”
Those descriptions can be seen as discriminatory.
During the screening process, maybe you’ll deny one applicant because their credit score was a 550. But, if the tenant you ultimately accept has a credit score that’s even lower than that, you could be seen as having discriminated against the first applicant because of one of those protected characteristics.
You need to be deliberate and attentive to language and consistency.
California Fair Housing Laws
California goes further when it comes to fair housing.
The state has even more protected classes than those listed by the federal law. In California, we get into protected classes that cover all the federal classes plus:
- Sexual orientation
- Age
- Gender identification
- Gender expression
- Veteran or military status
- Citizenship
- Primary language
- Marital status
- Source of income
- Genetic information
These protected classes are always evolving, and in some cases fair housing laws extend to screening practices in new ways. For example, in some cities, it is not permitted to run a criminal background check until after a tenant has been approved for a property.
Protected classes have rights that are easy to misunderstand. For example, a tenant with a disability has the right to move into your home with a service or support animal, even if you don’t allow pets.
Those Section 8 tenants who are qualified have a right to live in your home even if they get their income from a government housing program.
Let’s dive into both of those examples a bit.
Fair Housing Impacts Service and Companion Animals
People with pets love their pets and treat them as family members. Not all landlords love them, however. Allowing pets can come with liability. There can be excessive damage to your property. Pets are not protected, and you have every right to say no to pets.
But, when is a pet not a pet?
When it’s a service animal or a companion animal.
Animals become a fair housing issue when a tenant or an applicant has a service animal or a companion animal. You have to allow them, even if you don’t allow pets. That’s because fair housing laws do not see service and support animals as pets.
They’re seen as accommodations. That Seeing-Eye-Dog is treated just like a wheelchair ramp would be treated. An emotional support animal would be treated like a dedicated parking spot.
Not only are you required to accept the qualified tenants and their service or companion animals; you also cannot charge a pet fee, pet deposit, or pet rent.
There are some nuances to how a service animal is treated versus a companion animal. Service animals are trained in specific tasks. Companion animals, however, provide support, therapy, or emotional help to their owners. When a tenant has a service animal, you need to allow that animal without any questions. It will likely be identified easily.
Companion animals, however, can be questioned carefully. They are prescribed by healthcare providers, and you can ask your tenant for a copy of a letter or other documentation from their doctor or provider. This should outline why the animal is necessary.
Section 8 and Fair Housing
The Tenant Protection Act was passed in 2019, and went into effect in 2020. This law requires landlords to allow Section 8 tenants to apply to rent their homes.
Those housing vouchers can be used as proof of income. It cannot matter how tenants make their money when they apply to live in your home. As long as they have the required income that meets your screening criteria, you must consider them.
Previously, landlords could advertise “No Section 8” when marketing properties. That is not the case any longer. You must consider every applicant, regardless of income type.
Following fair housing laws is a lot more complex than simply making a policy of not discriminating against those protected classes. You have to have policies that reflect equal opportunity when it comes to advertising, screening, leasing, and managing your home.
We know this is an area that can be difficult to navigate, and we’d like to help you stay in compliance. Please contact us at Krystle Properties with any questions about your Benicia rental property or the way it’s managed.
