Socialebb Strategies and Solutions

Real estate advertising may look like plain vanilla marketing, but the wrong choice of words can result in a hefty fine and serious consequences for a real estate professional.

Words that are commonplace in the every day real estate lexicon are flagged as "discriminatory" when they are used in real estate advertising. Consider the following examples: adult community, near churches, bachelor pad, empty nesters. All of these words are prohibited in real estate advertising media.

Any of these words that are used to indicate a preference or limitation may prompt an investigation or "test." A "tester" is a person who is paid a fee to impersonate a buyer or a seller to engage real estate professonals and assess their professional conduct as it relates to Fair Housing Law. Testers may measure a real estate agent's response to direct questions about race, religion, and family status. Failing a Fair Housing test puts a real estate brokerage at substiantial risk, including the prospect of finding a padlock on the front door.

Words that discourage protected classes are also flagged. "This apartment is perfect for a single person or couple" risks interpretation as accomodation that bars children and families.There may be not deliberate intention to exclude families from the possibility of rental or purchase, but a person may interpret the ad to read, Families Need Not Apply.

Fair Housing Act

Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act), as amended, prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings, and in other housing-related transactions, based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status (including children under the age of 18 living with parents of legal custodians, pregnant women, and people securing custody of children under the age of 18), and handicap (disability).

Regarding advertisements ... Under 804(c) of the Fair Housing Act, Section 804(c) of the Act "prohibits the making, printing and publishing of advertisements which state a preference, limitation or discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin."


Fair Housing Resources

• Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity web site from U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development.
• The National Assn.of REALTORS offers a  Field Guide to Fair Housing.
• The Miami Valley (OH) Fair Housing Center has published  Fair Advertising Word and Phrase List.(Revised 08/24/07
• Craigslist's Fair Housing Is Everyone's Right