Florida Fair Housing Act: An Overview

The Fair Housing Law obligates landlords to treat their tenants fairly and equally. That is, from the way you advertise your vacant units to how you screen tenants and how you communicate with them on a day-to-day basis, among other things.

Failure to abide by the Florida Fair Housing Law and general Florida landlord-tenant laws has certain repercussions. You may be liable to civil penalties, not to mention your reputation as a landlord may suffer as a result.

If you’re just getting started as a landlord in Florida and are not familiar with the Fair Housing Act, this blog is for you. 

What Is Fair Housing?

Fair housing simply means providing home-seekers with an equal housing opportunity. This opportunity doesn’t only apply to prospective tenants, but also to home buyers and mortgage seekers as well. 

Fair housing guarantees that regardless of certain classes such as race and color, everyone has an equal opportunity to find housing that fits their needs. 

What Is the Federal Fair Housing Act? 

The Federal Fair Housing Act is a federal law that protects home seekers from discrimination in three main areas. That is, when renting, buying, or financing a home. 

The piece of legislation was created to end the rampant discrimination that existed at the time. Such discrimination could be based on things like how a person looked, and religious or marital status.

The federal law was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on April 11, 1968. It was meant to follow up to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Fair Housing Act prohibited discrimination in housing based on race, religion, color, sex, nationality, familial status, and handicap. 

What Are Some Examples of Fair Housing Violations? 

As a landlord, the following are a few actions that the fair housing laws prohibit you from engaging in. 

• Discriminating against tenants based on their race. Stating in your rental ad that, for instance, your property is ideal for singles would be illegal. 
• Choosing tenants based on their religion. Whether an applicant is a Buddhist, a Muslim, a Christian, or an Atheist, you must accord them an equal and fair opportunity to rent your home. 
• Showing preferential treatment towards a tenant based on their nationality. This would be illegal. You cannot discriminate or show preference to an applicant because of their language or culture. 
• You cannot use sex as a qualifying criterion when choosing tenants. Whether male or female, you must accord everyone an equal chance to rent the property. This 
• You cannot choose to rent to an individual due to familial status. Whether an applicant has children or none at all, you must treat all of them equally. This protection also applies to pregnant women; you cannot refuse to rent or evict someone due to pregnancy.
• You must not discriminate against individuals due to disability. In addition to this, you must also provide disabled individuals with reasonable modifications and accommodations. 

Other actions that still qualify as discriminatory include the following. 

• Refusing to rent out your property to a bona fide offer. 
• Stating that your property isn’t for rent when actually it is, because you prefer someone of a different characteristic to rent it. 
• Threatening or intimidating a tenant to forgo their right to fair housing. 
• Refusing to provide a disabled tenant reasonable accommodations or modifications. 

We recommend reading up on Florida security deposit laws to make sure this process is also done in accordance with the law. Landlords should also take care to abide by the terms of lease agreements according to the law; unjustified or illegal lease breaks can lead to repercussions.

Does Florida Provide Extra Fair Housing Protections? 

Yes, the state of Florida offers one extra protection for pregnant individuals. 

So, in total, Florida protects individuals from discrimination in housing-related matters based on eight protected classes. That is, race, color, sex, religion, nationality, pregnancy, familial status, and disability.

Who Enforces Fair Housing Laws in Florida? 

It is the Florida Commission on Human Relations (FCHR) that enforces the Florida Fair Housing Act. (Florida Statutes §760.20-760.37). 

The FCHR investigates any housing discrimination complaints and determines whether there is any merit in the accusations. Tenants, home buyers, and mortgage seekers have one year since the date of the alleged discrimination to file their complaints with the commission. 

Are There Exemptions to the Fair Housing Act? 

A few exemptions do exist. These, however, don’t apply to private landlords.

• Homes for the elderly: these are allowed to only be made available to people that are at least 55 years of age. 
• Owner-occupied housing: if the owner lives in a unit that has less than four units in total, they are exempt from fair housing laws. They must, however, advertise the units they are renting out in a non-discriminative way.
• Occupancy limits: check what your local laws say about how many individuals can occupy one home. If, for instance, it says 3, then you can limit the occupancy to only 3 individuals. 
• Private clubs: these are allowed to deny housing to individuals who don’t have membership in those clubs. 
• Religious organizations: these are also allowed to deny housing to members who aren’t their members. 

What Do Fair Housing Laws Say about Tenants with Disabilities? 

The Federal Fair Housing Act protects disabled individuals from housing discrimination. Further protection is provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 

The Fair Housing Act defines disability as follows:

• Mobility impairments.
• Alcoholism.
• Intellectual disabilities.
• Hearing impairments, including deafness.
• Visual impairments, including blindness.
• HIV/AIDS.
• Drug Addiction.
• Mental illness.
• Or anything else that may have an impact on an individual’s major life activity.

As a landlord, you have a responsibility to make reasonable accommodations to your policies and reasonable modifications to your unit to allow disabled tenants to enjoy their rented premises. 

What Can a Landlord Do to Ensure Adherence to the Fair Housing Laws? 

The following tips should get you started. 

• Advertise your property in a non-discriminatory way. 
• Ask the right questions when screening tenants. 
• Use a consistent screening procedure for all tenants. 
• Hire a property manager. 

Bottom Line

Before renting out a property, it’s important to understand your legal obligations first. If you have a question or need expert help in managing your rental property, PG Property Management Group can help. We are a top Broward County rental property management company. Get in touch to learn more!

Disclaimer: this blog should not be used as a substitute for legal advice from a licensed attorney in your state. Laws change, and this post might not be updated at the time of your reading. Please contact us for any questions you have in regards to this content or any other aspect of your property management needs.