Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. § 3604)

Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604 (Title VIII, Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended by the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988)

The federal Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604, makes it unlawful to refuse to sell or rent, or otherwise make unavailable or deny, a dwelling, or to discriminate in the terms, conditions, or privileges of sale or rental, because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, or handicap (disability). It also prohibits discriminatory advertising/notices and misrepresenting that a dwelling is unavailable, and—through the 1988 amendments—prohibits refusing reasonable modifications and reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities; it applies to NYC dwellings as the federal baseline atop NYC and NYS fair-housing law.