Fair housing laws advocate parity, prevent discrimination in housing, and try to make sure that every person has the right to a pleasant and safe home. Despite this, it can be difficult for rental property managers and owners to comprehend and follow these rules. While the goal of fair housing laws is simple, putting them into action can be a bit complicated.
Understanding fair housing laws and how they apply to you is imperative to keeping your rental properties compliant. Stick around to find out about the fundamentals of fair housing laws, common agreement issues, and best strategies for rental property owners and managers.
Understanding Fair Housing Laws
Before you begin understanding fair housing laws, you ought to know that different federal, state, and local laws might be applicable to your rental property depend on its location.
The first regulation several individuals come up with regarding fair housing is the federal Fair Housing Act of 1968. Nationwide, this law prohibits discrimination in housing when it comes to housing because of their race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, or family status. The law includes all housing-related transactions, such as buying, renting, and funding. The goal is to make sure that everyone has equal access to these options.
The rule is enforced by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which examines complaints and strives to uphold fair housing standards across the U.S. Aside from the Fair Housing Act, other federal housing laws reinforce and protect the values of fair housing. All of these rules work together to make a more equitable housing landscape around the country.
Besides federal regulations, several state and local laws give renters extra protections. These regulations cover topics like eviction rights, security deposit limits, and discrimination based on income source, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Some cities have guidelines that limit or stabilize rent increases to prevent excessive costs and ensure housing affordability in high-demand areas. Local tenant rights may also include the right not to be evicted during severe weather, the right to know about the habitability standards and the need for landlords and tenants to be able to communicate with each other clearly. You can discover more information about housing laws in your state online.
Common Compliance Challenges for Property Owners
It is critical to know the rules, but it is also vital to know the common scenarios that may result in housing law violations and how to steer clear of them. For example, some common challenges rental property owners and landlords face with obeying fair housing laws often result from implicit bias or reliance on obsolete methods.
For example, tenant screening can be hard for some property managers and owners because federal law does not permit you to reject rent to someone because they have a disability, are too mature, or have a connection to another individual. As a result, choosing ahead of time that you will only rent to adults without children, for instance, or that you won’t rent to people in their 20s, would both be examples of housing discrimination.
When marketing the property, property owners and managers might wish to look for a particular kind of rental, which may lead to a comparable issue. Most of the time, these methods are also against state and federal housing laws. By understanding these problems and adjusting your screening and marketing methods, you can better ensure fair and equitable treatment of all prospective residents.
Best Practices for Ensuring Compliance
To make sure your property management strategies comply with fair housing laws, you need to do things like establish and stick to a standard application process and create criteria for tenant screenings. This will help you avoid discernment that you didn’t mean to do. Other best practices to ensure compliance include:
- Utilize inclusive language in rental advertisements to prevent making statements or opinions that are discriminatory.
- Be consistent with presenting the same information, following the same procedures, and performing the same follow-up actions for every candidate.
- Guarantee that your lease terms, instructions, and policies are equally fair to all tenants.
- Know that reasonable accommodations are all available for tenants with disabilities, and be ready to respond to such requests promptly and appropriately.
- Maintain detailed records of all applications, interactions, and choices, documenting your reasons for approvals and denials in case of future disputes or inquiries.
- Talk to an attorney or legal expert before making rules or dealing with tough scenarios.
Creating and following a written non-discrimination policy that states your commitment to Fair Housing compliance is recommended to remain consistent.
Property Management Companies in Fair Housing Compliance
Experienced property managers should understand all the neighborhood, state, and federal rules that apply to their jobs. Moreover, because they are trained professionals, they have protocols to make sure that your communications with tenants, background checks, paperwork, and other functions comply with these regulations. This can help you feel better and reduce the risk of discrimination claims altogether.
Building a Fair Housing Culture
With so much at hazard in an investment property, it’s useful to know the laws governing rental properties, housing, and other related subjects. This will make it easier to stay out of anxiety with the law. Property owners can help guarantee equitable treatment for all tenants by knowing and adhering to fair housing laws.
When you engage with an experienced property management company like Real Property Management Value, they can help you discover how to abide by the complex fair housing rules in Matthews and the neighboring areas. Contact us today or call 704-285-2228 for more information on ensuring housing law compliance and other quality management services.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
