Discriminatory Ads?

Question

Looking for some advice-

When posting an apartment for rent on various sites, I typically include a string on words at the very bottom of the ad to aid in search.  Here is an example:

"University, Executive, Professional, Airport, Downtown, Yard, Dogs, Cats, Pets, Luxury, Designer, Upscale, Historic"

I was told by a friend that saw my ad that it could be considered discriminatory and in violation of Fair Housing Laws since it could appear that the ad is designed to attract "Executive and Professional" tenants.

My units are very upscale and it's reflected in the monthly rental price.  Due to the above average prices and amenities  offered, mostly all of my units are leased by executive or professional tenants.

As I mentioned, my goal in adding this string is to aid in search and not eliminate any potential applicants.

Any advice is welcomed.  Thanks!

Steve Babiak · Answer

Source of income is not a protected class under federal rules, but it IS protected under some state rules (such as in NJ).

Michael B. · Answer

Hey @David P.

What your friend is getting at is the idea that the Feds call 'Disparate Impact'.

In a few cases you can get into trouble for that if the correlation is too great between a protected class and other words. For example it's OK to say you won't rent to people from certain occupation. However if you pick an occupation that tends to have lots of one racial group and you're really using that occupation as a proxy for race then you can get into trouble.

However I don't see any strong race (or other protected class) proxies in your ad. But I'm pretty sure that's what your friend was getting at. And I'm pretty sure he's overreacting to these words. Of course, I'm not a lawyer and may be wrong.

Rob K. · Answer

I would be happy to rent to a garbage man, but it would be perfectly legal to not rent to someone because they are a garbage man. I don't rent to lawyers or bailbondsmen. It's perfectly legal to discriminate against occupations. Some landlords discriminate against cops, but I don't. It's also legal in my state to not rent to gay people, although some cities have ordinances against that.

Rob K. · Answer

Steve summed it up perfectly. He's a genius at finding relevant threads.

Steve Babiak · Answer

I'm not Rob, but I'll show you his answers that are already posted.

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/90852-tenant-screening-uncovered-duis-jail-time-etc?page=1#p563644

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/76522-attorney-father-co-signer?page=1#p450827

That first thread is worth reading in its entirety BTW ...

George Paiva · Answer

In CT we can't discriminate with Source of Income.  I'd steer away from putting any of those key words in as it just sets you up for anything.  Just rather list the specs of the apartment and the rent your asking.  With proper pictures and descriptions I doubt a D class tenant will seek out A class unit.

Account Closed · Answer

The civil rights act of 1968 prohibits discrimination based on race ,color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status and handicap..  I did not think any of your words had any connotation related to any of these things.  In Orlando, we have a local ordinance protecting gay people from discrimination.  Check your local ordinances for something similar.   I have never heard of this "source of income" thing until today.   Your SEO coach would be proud of you.

Matt Devincenzo · Answer

@Fran Flanagan I don't think that stating "no garbage men" would fall under source of income. The source as I see it could also be termed categories, wages, SSI, disability, child support, housing voucher, EBT, SNAP, alimony ect.

In the case of saying "no garbage men", you are not discriminating against source of income as their income source is wages just as the local mailman's source is wages too. You allowed everyone's income equally you just denied the occupation.

Duncan Taylor · Answer

Most areas of the country now have local rules governing how many unmarried people can occupy a room.

For example, some areas say you can't put more than two kids in a bedroom and they must be the same gender.

So, if you have a two bedroom house or apartment for rent and someone comes to you with 4 kids, as long as they are all the same gender or split 50/50 you can't refuse to rent on that basis. The parent could say they will sleep in the living room and very well might.

But, if they had five kids or 3 boys and one girl, you couldn't legally rent to them if the local ordinances prohibited it.

As far as discriminating based on occupation, yes, I dare say everyone saying they wouldn't would refuse to rent to people based on occupation would do so with some occupations.

Fran Flanagan · Answer

My bad.  I mixed up federal and my local, worked out though, since it made me re-read the rules.  PA adds ancestry, age and guide dogs to the federal list.  Still in PA, one can discriminate based upon source of income, but not in Philadelphia.

Am I correct in that if source of income is protected, then one could not reject based upon occupation?  (Apologies for the partial hijack, but it seems related.)

Discriminatory Ads?

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