What does the Fair Housing Act require of landlords?
The Fair Housing Act requires landlords to offer housing on the same terms to everyone, regardless of protected class. Section 3604 makes it illegal to refuse to rent or negotiate, set different terms, falsely say a unit isn’t available, or publish a discriminatory ad because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin.
For people with disabilities, the Act goes further. A landlord must make reasonable accommodations in rules and policies, allow reasonable modifications to a unit, and, for newer buildings, meet accessible design requirements. Familial status covers households with children under 18, pregnant women and people getting custody of a child.
| Protected class | Where landlords trip up |
|---|---|
| Race, color, national origin | Steering, different screening, language-based ads |
| Religion | Ads describing the building or neighbors by faith |
| Sex | Harassment by staff or the owner |
| Familial status | “No kids,” adults-only rules, overly strict occupancy limits |
| Disability | Refusing accommodations, modifications or accessible features |
Fair Housing Act exemptions: Mrs. Murphy and single-family owners
The Fair Housing Act exempts only two small-owner situations under 42 U.S.C. 3603(b), and neither one reaches a typical apartment building. The first covers a single-family house sold or rented by a private owner who owns no more than three such houses, with no broker and no discriminatory advertising; an owner who wasn’t the last resident gets the exemption for only one sale in any 24-month period.
The second, often called the Mrs. Murphy exemption, covers rooms or units in a building with living quarters for no more than four families, where the owner actually lives in one of them. Separate exemptions in Section 3607 cover certain religious organizations and qualifying housing for older persons.
Three limits apply to every exemption. The advertising ban in 3604(c) still applies. The Civil Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C. 1982, bars race discrimination in property with no small-owner exemption at all. And state and local fair housing laws often have narrower exemptions or none. HUD also withdrew, in 2025, a 2024 legal memo on whether LLC-owned buildings can use the Mrs. Murphy exemption, so don’t count on it for a building held in an LLC.
Worked example: applying the exemptions to real buildings
Here’s how the federal exemptions apply to six common properties. The tests are owner-occupancy, unit count, how many houses the owner holds and whether a broker or a discriminatory ad is involved.
| Property | Federal FHA exemption? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Fourplex, owner lives in one unit | Yes, except advertising | No more than four families, owner-occupied |
| Fourplex, owner lives elsewhere | No | Mrs. Murphy requires the owner to live there |
| Single house, individual owns two others, rents without a broker | Yes, except advertising | Three or fewer houses, no broker |
| Same house listed with a leasing agent | No | Using a broker’s rental services ends the exemption |
| 6-unit building, owner lives in one unit | No | More than four families |
| 24-unit elevator building, first occupied in 1998 | No, plus design rules | Covered multifamily dwelling |
Fair housing advertising rules
Under 42 U.S.C. 3604(c), no one may publish a notice, statement or ad for renting or selling a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation or discrimination based on a protected class. This rule covers exempt owners too, and it reaches listings, social posts, signs, emails and what staff say on the phone.
Describe the property, not the people you want living in it. “Two-bedroom near transit, laundry on site” is fine. “Perfect for a single professional,” “no children,” “Christian building” or “English speakers only” are not. Adults-only wording is allowed only for housing that qualifies under the housing-for-older-persons exemption.
Reasonable accommodations, modifications and accessibility
A reasonable accommodation is a change in a rule, policy, practice or service that a person with a disability needs for equal use of a dwelling, and refusing one is discrimination under 3604(f)(3)(B). Common examples include an assigned accessible parking space, a different rent due date tied to a benefit check, or a waiver of a no-pet rule for an assistance animal.
A reasonable modification is a physical change, such as grab bars or a ramp, and under 3604(f)(3)(A) the tenant pays for it. For a rental, the landlord may, where reasonable, require the tenant to restore the interior at move-out, reasonable wear and tear excepted.
Newer buildings carry design rules. Covered multifamily dwellings first occupied after March 13, 1991, meaning buildings of four or more units with an elevator and ground-floor units in other buildings of four or more units, must meet accessible design requirements for entrances, common areas, doors and unit features.
Assistance animals after HUD’s 2025 and 2026 changes
The statute still requires reasonable accommodations, but HUD has changed how it enforces animal requests. Effective September 17, 2025, HUD withdrew its two main assistance animal notices, FHEO-2020-01 from 2020 and FHEO Notice 2013-01, and it published that withdrawal in the Federal Register on April 6, 2026.
In a May 22, 2026 enforcement memo, HUD’s fair housing office said it will find reasonable cause on animal complaints only where the animal is individually trained to perform disability-related tasks. Requests for untrained emotional support animals are no longer treated as presumptively reasonable. Unlike the ADA, the memo allows species other than dogs if the animal is trained, and HUD says it plans rulemaking.
Don’t take that as permission to deny every emotional support animal. The memo doesn’t change the statute or court decisions, tenants can still file a private lawsuit within two years, and state laws such as California’s can protect emotional support animals on their own terms. Keep a written process, answer requests promptly and decide each one on its facts.
Disparate impact and criminal background screening in 2026
Disparate impact liability, where a neutral policy unjustifiably harms a protected class, is still part of the Fair Housing Act because the Supreme Court recognized it in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project in 2015. HUD proposed on January 14, 2026 to remove its disparate impact regulation at 24 CFR 100.500, and in August 2026 it reopened comment through a supplemental proposal. As of late October 2026 the removal was still a proposal, and courts can still apply the doctrine under Inclusive Communities either way.
Criminal screening guidance has also changed. HUD withdrew its 2016 legal guidance on criminal records effective September 25, 2025, and a 2022 implementation memo effective September 17, 2025, and a November 2025 HUD letter told assisted housing providers to screen firmly using existing rules. Many state and local laws still limit criminal history questions, so check yours, put your criteria in writing and apply them the same way to every applicant.
Lead based paint disclosure for pre-1978 buildings
Lead based paint disclosure is required before a tenant or buyer is bound by a lease or sales contract for most housing built before 1978, under 42 U.S.C. 4852d and the joint HUD and EPA rule at 40 CFR 745 Subpart F and 24 CFR 35 Subpart A. You must give the EPA lead hazard pamphlet, disclose any known lead-based paint or hazards, hand over available reports and attach a signed disclosure form with the Lead Warning Statement.
Some units are outside the rule. Target housing excludes zero-bedroom units such as studios, and housing for the elderly or people with disabilities, unless a child under 6 lives there or is expected to. The rule also exempts leases of 100 days or less with no renewal, units certified lead-based paint free by a certified inspector, foreclosure sales and lease renewals where you already disclosed everything and have no new information.
Keep the paperwork. Lessors and their agents must keep the completed disclosure for at least three years from the start of the lease, and sellers for three years from closing. Renovation work that disturbs paint in pre-1978 housing falls under a separate EPA rule, the Renovation, Repair and Painting rule in 40 CFR 745 Subpart E.
| Requirement | Lease | Sale |
|---|---|---|
| EPA pamphlet and known-hazard disclosure | Yes | Yes |
| Signed disclosure with Lead Warning Statement | Yes, in or attached to the lease | Yes, attached to the contract |
| 10-day chance to test for lead | No | Yes, unless changed or waived in writing |
| Record retention | 3 years from lease start | 3 years from closing |
Fair housing and lead disclosure penalties
Fair housing penalties can be large even for a first case. In a HUD administrative case, the maximum civil penalty is $26,262 for a respondent with no prior violation, $65,653 with one prior violation within five years and $131,308 with two or more within seven years. HUD set those figures in 2025 and announced in September 2026 that it wouldn’t adjust penalties for 2026, so the 2025 amounts still apply. Private suits can add actual and punitive damages plus attorney’s fees.
Lead disclosure violations carry a federal civil penalty of up to $22,263 per violation, and a knowing violator is liable to the tenant or buyer for three times their damages, plus court costs and attorney’s fees. Say a 1960s building has 12 lease files with no signed disclosure: the maximum federal penalty exposure is 12 × $22,263, or $267,156, before any damages claims. A missing form is cheap to fix and expensive to explain.
Fair housing in a 5+ unit apartment building
A building with five or more units can’t use the Mrs. Murphy exemption, so every federal rule applies in full. Put your screening criteria, occupancy standards, accommodation process and advertising language in writing, and train anyone who answers phones or shows units.
Consistency is your best defense. Use the same application, fees, deposits and notice process for every applicant and tenant, and keep records showing you did. Those same files speed up a buyer’s due diligence when you sell.
Selling an apartment building: fair housing and lead disclosure
The Fair Housing Act covers the sale of a building as well as its rental, so marketing and buyer selection follow the same rules. If the building was built before 1978, the sale itself triggers lead disclosure: the buyer gets the pamphlet, your disclosure, any lead reports and generally 10 days to test, unless the buyer agrees in writing to a different period or waives it.
Hand the buyer your lease disclosure files, accommodation records and any open complaints. Selling with tenants in place is often the simplest exit for a tired landlord, since the leases, the accommodations already granted and the compliance obligations all move to the new owner.
Selling your apartment building to Skyline
Skyline Capital Investments buys apartment buildings with five or more units nationwide, with tenants in place, including older buildings with incomplete paperwork or open compliance items. We can work with a 1031 exchange timeline or offer seller financing terms.
Send the address and unit count through the form on this page or call (469) 660-2977. We typically respond within 48 hours.
