Can I offer a military discount?

[Dan S.]

Hi there, thank you for checking out my post!

I live in Oklahoma and would like to inquiry on whether or not it's considered legal to offer a military discount to prospective tenants. I would also welcome advice on how specifically to research such a question.

Thank you!

[Matthew Kreitzer]

Originally posted by @Chris Mason:

Someone tag that Virginia lawyer dude. I meant to connect with him in that thread about LLCs a while back, but didn't. :\

@Dan S. - I'm not a lawyer and this is not legal advice, but I tend to think that if I can do it as a lender, lawfully and it not be "housing discrimination," then (barring local ordinances that say otherwise) you can probably do it as a landlord.

Military discounts for mortgages are 100% a thing. You're going to get a better deal as a veteran walking into my office, even if it's not a VA loan, holding constant things like FICO score and down payment amount, than if you aren't a veteran. No one has ever (credibly) claimed that this exposes us to any liability.

I have never heard anyone claim that "non-veteran" or "non-military" is a protected class of persons, the way "single mother" (marital status) or "Latino" (race) or "gay" (sexual orientation) are protected classes of persons. 

The amount of anti-discrimination compliance training I've received is freaking endless, but at no point has any of that training included a single iota of "be careful you don't treat veterans better than non-veterans, or it's unlawful housing discrimination!" Everything else under the sun, yup I need to be careful not to engage in unlawful housing discrimination. Military service -> nope, different story entirely, to the point that I'm perfectly happy to publicly state what I publicly stated in that paragraph above this one about disparate treatment positive discrimination that we apply to veterans. Could you imagine me saying publicly that Asian Americans are going to get a better deal, even if that were true (it isn't)? Hell no, nope nopey nope nope no way in hell!

It is quite normal and accepted practice in our society to discriminate on the basis of military service. Your proposal, I think, would be another example of that.

 You've provided, in my opinion, a very good analysis of the central issues that are at play. I want to first start by answering the original poster's question of "how do I research the answers to these questions", as I think it is a good skill to impart;

Housing laws have a few different sources; state based landlord/tenant laws, municipal ordinances, federal discrimination laws, and case law. One last place that could potentially address the question is the UCMJ; or that pesky law that military members have to deal with. To research such issues, you would have to do a keyword search for things like "discrimination" in the statutes. The biggest problem, and the trouble area that makes most attorneys recommend you seek out legal advice, is case law. 

I, personally, was unable to find anything that would discourage this practice. But I am not a licensed attorney in your state. There could be some strange case law in your state that would discourage such a practice. What I did find, however, is that the military has a Partnership program where local landlords can contact local operations and agree to provide housing for military members at reduced rates. Validity of the practice aside, it may be a good idea to reach out to local command and try to join the partnership program.

From my personal opinion, such practices are entirely legal in the state of Virginia (after having reviewed relevant local, state, and federal law). However, something on a state level could impact that analysis. Please find a local landlord/tenant lawyer who is a former JAG officer to answer this question for you completely.

Disclaimer: Please do not act on the educational information posted above. My analysis and recommendations are based on my state alone. For anyone in my state, the above may be seen as legal advertising. Even people in Virginia should seek out a local landlord/tenant former JAG attorney. (And yes, I know of at least three, they exist).