Unit 4.2 -- Fair Housing (LTP quiz) Flashcards
In Federal Fair Housing cases, which governmental agency will be involved?
Choose only ONE best answer.
A Federal Fair Housing Agency B HUD C FHA D NC Fair Housing Commission
B
HUD
HUD - Housing and Urban Development hears complaints for violations of the Federal Fair Housing Act. Complaints must be filed within 1 year and HUD has 100 days to hear the case. The NC Human Relations Commission hears complaints for violation of NC Fair Housing.
Which of the following would NOT be considered a violation of federal fair housing laws?
Choose only ONE best answer.
A
Telling a prospective tenant that a property is not available for rent, when it is and being shown to other potential tenants.
B
Charging a higher rent rate for families with small children to compensate for extra damage.
C
Sending certain families listings in one part of town because more families of their same nationality live in that area.
D
Refusing to work with an Indian family because they do not qualify for a loan.
D
Refusing to work with an Indian family because they do not qualify for a loan.
A broker is not required to represent a client that cannot obtain a loan when one is needed to purchase a property. Refusing to represent a tenant or buyer that cannot qualify is not considered discrimination. This is also true of a landlord or property manager refusing to rent a property when the prospective tenant does not meet income or credit score guidelines.
All of the other items would clearly involve “picking and choosing” that could be related back to the 7 protected traits (race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status/children, or handicapping status/disability)
What is the amount of time an individual has to file legal action with regard to a HUD Fair Housing violation?
Choose only ONE best answer.
A
1 Year
B
100 Days
C
6 Months
D
10 Days
B
100 Days
A complaint must be filed with HUD within 1 year for violations of the Federal Fair Housing Act.
A broker is managing a property, authorized under a written property management agreement. The agreement states that the broker cannot rent to applicants that have been arrested for violent offenses or to applicants who’s credit score is below 675. Is this a violation of Federal Fair Housing?
Choose only ONE best answer.
A
Yes. A broker cannot consider arrests only convictions.
B
Yes. A broker must consider the credit score and debt to income ratio.
C
No. A property owner can set the screening criteria.
D
No. A broker must follow his/her principals lawful instructions.
A
Yes. A broker cannot consider arrests only convictions.
A broker cannot discriminate and the owner by hiring the broker has agreed not to discriminate. While the owner can recommend screening criteria to the property manager, they cannot give the broker unlawful instructions.
Arrests are NOT convictions and you are considered innocent until proven guilty. If using criminal record as a screening tool, it is important to set expectations, be consistent with all tenants, and ONLY use convictions as a basis for the housing decision.
The use of credit scores would be acceptable so long as they were always used evenly for all potential tenants.
Which of the following would NOT be considered lawful screening of tenants when a broker represents an owner of a 4-unit owner occupied property?
Choose only ONE best answer.
A
Refusing to rent to an applicant that has changed jobs multiple times in the past year.
B
Refusing to rent to an individual that was convicted a drug possession in the past year.
C
Refusing to rent to a tenant that receives Section 8 public housing assistance vouchers.
D
Refusing to rent to any tenant that has a dog.
D
Refusing to rent to any tenant that has a dog.
An owner can have a “no pet” policy, however service animals and assistance animals must be permitted or the owner/property manager is violating Federal Fair Housing.
A property manager can refuse to rent to a prospective tenant that does not have stable income, was recently convicted for a criminal offense (although it is best for a clear policy to be established - a blanket refusal for any drug offense is not permitted), or refusing to accept a tenant on public assistance.
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits discrimination based on public assistance only when applying for credit; it does not apply to the rental or sale of housing.
Which of the following statements regarding the Civil Rights Act of 1866 is TRUE when both the buyer and seller are represented by a real estate broker?
Choose only ONE best answer.
A
It prohibits discrimination based on familial status.
B
It does not apply to a buyer that seeks housing because a neighborhood is viewed as being predominantly Jewish.
C
It does not apply when discrimination is based upon color/race.
D
It prohibits discrimination in housing transactions but does not apply to commercial transactions.
C
It does not apply when discrimination is based upon color/race.
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 prevents discriminating in all transactions based on race or color - whether residential or commercial / leasing or purchase.
Familial status (children) is a protected class under Federal Fair Housing but not under the Civil Rights Act.
While making housing choices based on Religion is absolutely illegal under the Fair Housing Act, it is not something that is protected by the Civil Rights Act.
Know each Act and what it covers.
An older gentleman who walks with a walker and is very unstable is visiting an apartment community and has requested he be placed far away from small children because they make him nervous and put him in danger of falling. Which statement is most likely true regarding this situation?
Choose only ONE best answer.
A
The leasing agent should comply with this instruction as a means of accomodating the tenant’s handicapping condition.
B
The leasing agent should introduce the tenant to the families with children in the community so the tenant can decide if they feel comfortable.
C
The leasing agent should automatically place the tenant into a first floor unit to accommodate the obvious mobility issues without focus on the issue with children.
D
The leasing agent should inform the tenant that they will show them all available units such that the tenant can make their own choice about what is the most sensible selection for his needs.
D
The leasing agent should inform the tenant that they will show them all available units such that the tenant can make their own choice about what is the most sensible selection for his needs.
There are two protected classes potentially battling it out in this question. Handicapping status and familial status (children). The licensee needs to avoid discriminatory actions based on each.
By complying with any request regarding children, the licensee would be violating the familial status protected class.
By automatically placing the tenant in a first floor unit regardless of other units being available, the licensee would be violating the handicapping status portion of fair housing. Treat this tenant no differently than you would any other. Show them all of the possibilities and let the tenant make an educated choice for themselves.
A licensee is marketing a home in an area where the vast majority of the current residents speak Spanish as their primary language. Which of the following statements is most likely true of marketing done by the licensee?
Choose only ONE best answer.
A
The licensee can place ads in local newspapers and/or stores without discrimination so long as they are choosing the places to market without concern for issues of language or nationality.
B
The licensee cannot place ads in local newspapers that are printed in Spanish.
C
The licensee must place ads in local newspapers that are printed in Spanish
D
The licensee can choose to selectively place ads only in publications in the area that are printed in Spanish so as to maximize the exposure in the communities most likely to produce a buyer.
A
The licensee can place ads in local newspapers and/or stores without discrimination so long as they are choosing the places to market without concern for issues of language or nationality.
Because the Fair Housing Act prevents discrimination by licensees on the basis of Nationality, it would be a violation of the Act to make marketing decisions in residential transactions with language as a prominent decider. Whether the licensee decided for or against marketing in Spanish only newspapers, they would be in violation if the language of the paper was a determining factor. Marketing in a Spanish only environment would be acceptable if it were part of a campaign which advertises far and wide in other publications/languages so as to not be discriminatory.
Which of the following statements would likely be viewed as a potential violation of Federal Fair Housing Laws?
Choose only ONE best answer.
A
Beautiful home with plantation style shades throughout
B
antebellum home on your own private plantation
C
Antebellum style home with wrap around porch
D
Incredibly rare historic home built in 1850
B
antebellum home on your own private plantation
The word “antebellum” means prior to the Civil War. Because of this meaning, we have to be very careful with the application of the word. “Antebellum style” is generally acceptable because it describes a type of architecture. However a home that itself is described as being an “antebellum home” could be taken to mean a home that is unwelcome to persons of certain racial or ethnic backgrounds. The word “plantation” would be treated in a similar way. We would not want to market a home as a “plantation home” but “plantation style” is widely used as a description for a type of architecture or design.
Which of the following would likely be allowable under Fair Housing statutes?
Choose only ONE best answer.
A
A “FSBO” seller who hires a limited services real estate office to place their home in the MLS and is excited to try to find a Hispanic buyer for their property
B
The owner of an 8 unit apartment building who personally lives in the building they own and wishes to not rent to Jewish tenants
C
The owner of a home who rents out their basement and wishes to limit the rental of the basement to only Catholic tenants
D
A homeowner who has listed their home for sale with ABC Real Estate and states a preference that the house be sold to a family with small children because of the play area out back.
C
The owner of a home who rents out their basement and wishes to limit the rental of the basement to only Catholic tenants
This is a question about the exemptions/exceptions to the Fair Housing Law. In each case, we have an owner seeking to discriminate based on one of the 7 protected classes.
The FSBO seller is a violation because they have hired a real estate office. If a FSBO wishes to be completely exempt, they cannot use a real estate agent in any way.
The apartment owner is not exempt because there are too many units in the building. The owner of real estate who personally lives in the property and is renting out a room or unit in that same building is exempt if the building is small enough….4 or fewer units
The homeowner listed with ABC Real Estate is definitely not exempt because they’ve hired a real estate office.
The only option here for the exemption is the owner renting out their basement. Since the owner personally lives in the property and they are renting out a room/unit in that same property, they are exempt as long as the property has less than 4 total units. This house/basement meets that qualification and therefore the owner is exempt so long as they don’t use a real estate agent and don’t advertise that they intend to discriminate.
