Real Estate National Test Ch 18 Flashcards
Explain the “Civil Rights Act of 1866”
The law prohibits discrimination based on race in every property transaction but was largely ignored.
Complaints brought under the Civil Rights Act of 1866 are taken directly to federal courts.
The only time limit for action is a state’s statute of limitations for torts (injuries one individual inflicts on another).
Explain Plessy vs Ferguson
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 1896 decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, which involved segregated railway cars, upheld racial segregation in public facilities—the “separate but equal” doctrine.
Explain Executive Order 8802
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8802 on June 25, 1941, prohibiting racial discrimination in the national defense industry.
Explain Executive Order 9981
President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981 on June 26, 1948, ending racial discrimination in the U.S. armed forces.
Explain Brown Vs Board of Education
In 1954, Plessy was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which held that separate schools for black and white students were inherently unconstitutional.
Explain the “Civil Rights Act of 1957”
On September 9, 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which authorized the Attorney General to seek federal injunctions to protect the voting rights of African Americans.
Explain Jones Vs. Mayer
1968, the Supreme Court, in Jones v. Mayer, held that there was a constitutional basis for the Civil Rights Act of 1866 in the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits slavery. It is now recognized that the 1866 law prohibits all racial discrimination in the sale or rental of publicly or privately held property, without exception, whether facilitated by a real estate professional or sold or rented by the owner. Where race is involved, no exceptions apply.
Explain “Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968”
Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on April 11 of that year, was amended by the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 and the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, and is known as the Fair Housing Act. It prohibits discrimination in housing based on
- race,
- color,
- national origin,
- religion,
- sex,
- Familial status
- disability.
Explain the Fair Housing Act.
AKA: Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988
It prohibits discrimination in housing based on
- race,
- color,
- national origin,
- religion,
- sex,
- Familial status
- disability.
The Fair Housing Act also prohibits discrimination against individuals because of their association with persons in the protected classes.
The Fair Housing Act originally prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national origin.
The Fair Housing Act does not require that housing be made available to an individual whose tenancy would constitute a direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals or would result in substantial physical damage to the property of others.
What did “The Housing and Community Development Act” add to the Fair Housing Act?
Sex as a protected class.
Explain the Fair Housing Amendment Act
Added Disability and familial status although an exception was made for certain housing intended for persons age 55 or older.
The amended act also changed the penalties for violations of the law, making them more severe, and added the right to seek damages, such as those for noneconomic injuries (humiliation, embarrassment, inconvenience, and mental anguish).
To the Fair Housing Act.
Explain “Housing for Older Persons Act”
AKA: HOPA
Which repealed the requirement that housing intended for those age 55 or older have “significant facilities and services” designed for seniors.
HOPA still requires that at least 80% of occupied units have one person age 55 or older living in them.
The act prohibits the awarding of monetary damages against those who, in good faith, reasonably believed that property designated as housing for older persons was exempt from familial status provisions of the Fair Housing Act.
Explain “Department of Housing and Urban Development”
AKA: HUD
Administrates “The Fair Housing Act”.
HUD has established rules and regulations that further interpret the practices affected by the law.
In addition, HUD distributes an equal housing opportunity poster, available at www.hud.gov.
The poster declares that the office in which it is displayed promises to adhere to the Fair Housing Act and pledges support for affirmative marketing and advertising programs.
HUD D: Dwelling
As any building or part of a building designed for occupancy as a residence by one or more families. This includes a single-family house, a condominium, a cooperative, and manufactured or other factory-built housing, as well as vacant land on which any of these structures will be built.
HUD D: Family / Familial Status
Is defined as one or more individuals under age 18 living with a parent or guardian.
It also includes a woman who is pregnant and anyone who is in the process of assuming custody of a child under age 18.
Housing that qualifies for older people is exempt. Otherwise, single or multifamily housing must be made available to families with children under the same terms and conditions applied to anyone else.
It is illegal to advertise properties as being for adults only or to indicate a preference for a certain number of children.
Landlords and condominiums/cooperatives cannot restrict the number of occupants with the intent of eliminating families with children.
Any occupancy standards must be based on objective factors, such as sanitation or safety.
HUD D: Disability
Is included in the Fair Housing Act as a handicap, although the word disability is now the preferred term.
A disability is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of a person’s major life activities and includes having a record of having such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment, even if one does not exist.
It is unlawful to discriminate against prospective buyers or tenants on the basis of disability.
Persons who have AIDS are protected by fair housing laws under this classification.
The classification does not include current, illegal use of, or addiction to, a controlled substance, as defined in the Controlled Substances Act.
Landlords must make reasonable accommodations to existing policies, practices, or services to permit persons with disabilities to have equal enjoyment of the premises.
It would be reasonable to expect a landlord to permit a support animal (such as a guide dog) in a normally no-pets building or to provide a designated parking space in a generally unreserved lot for a person with a disability.
People with disabilities must be permitted to make necessary, reasonable modifications to the premises at their own expense.
Such modifications might include lowering door handles or installing bath rails to accommodate a person in a wheelchair.
Failure to permit reasonable modification constitutes illegal discrimination.
The law recognizes that some reasonable modifications might make a rental property undesirable to the general population.
In such a case, the landlord is allowed to require that the property be restored to its previous condition when the lease period ends, aside from reasonable wear and tear.
Where it is necessary to ensure with reasonable certainty that funds will be available to pay for the restorations at the end of the tenancy, the landlord may negotiate, as part of a restoration agreement, a provision requiring that the tenant pay into an interest-bearing escrow account, over a reasonable period, a reasonable amount of money not to exceed the cost of the restorations.
The interest in the account accrues to the benefit of the tenant.
A landlord may not increase the required security deposit for a person with a disability, however.
The law does not prohibit restricting occupancy exclusively to persons with a disability in dwellings that are designed specifically for their accommodation.
In newly constructed multifamily buildings with an elevator and four or more units, the public and common areas must be accessible to persons with a disability, and doors and hallways must be wide enough for wheelchairs.
The entrance to each unit must be accessible, as well as the light switches, electrical outlets, thermostats, and other environmental controls.
A person using a wheelchair should be able to use the kitchen and bathroom; bathroom walls should be reinforced to accommodate later installation of grab bars.
Ground-floor units must meet these requirements in buildings that do not have an elevator.
Real estate professionals should be aware that state and local laws may have stricter standards.
The federal Fair Housing Act covers most housing but does exempt?
- Owner-Occupied buildings with no more than four units.
- Single-family housing sold or rented without the use a real estate professional
- Housing operated by organizations and private clubs that limit occupancy to members.
The sale or rental of a single-family home is exempt from the Fair Housing Act when the transaction meets all conations.
- Home is owned by an individual who does not own more than three such homes at one time & who does not sell more than one every two years.
- A real estate professional is not involved in the transaction.
- Discriminatory advertising is not used.
HUD D: Housing for older persons
While the Fair Housing Act protects families with children, the Housing for Older Persons Act (HOPA) provides that certain properties can be restricted to occupancy by older persons.
Housing intended for persons age 62 or older or housing occupied by at least one person 55 years of age or older per unit (where 80% of the units are occupied by individuals 55 or older) is exempt from the familial status protection.
Such “senior housing” typically will allow temporary occupancy by younger visitors, such as permitting overnight visits for up to two weeks per year.
