Fair housing/discrimination - Next Generation Bar Exam

1. What is steering under the Fair Housing Act?

   Directing buyers or renters toward or away from neighborhoods based on a protected characteristic. Steering is a form of prohibited discrimination in making housing available.

2. Under Shelley v. Kraemer, what is the status of judicial enforcement of a racially restrictive covenant?

   It violates the Equal Protection Clause. Court enforcement is state action, even though the covenant is private.

3. What is the status of discriminatory advertising under the Fair Housing Act for an otherwise exempt owner?

   It is prohibited, because the advertising ban applies regardless of the sale and rental exemptions. An owner who advertises discriminatorily also forfeits the single-family home exemption.

4. What is the status of a landlord's 'no pets' policy as applied to a tenant with a disability who needs an assistance animal?

   The landlord must ordinarily make a reasonable accommodation allowing the animal. The accommodation may be denied if it imposes an undue burden or the animal poses a direct threat.

5. What protection does 42 U.S.C. 1982 provide in housing transactions?

   It bars racial discrimination in the sale or rental of property, with no exemptions. Under Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co., the statute reaches private discrimination.

6. An owner living in one unit of a duplex refuses to rent the other unit to a family with children, without advertising. What is the status under the Fair Housing Act?

   The refusal falls within the owner-occupied exemption. The building has four or fewer units and the owner lives in one.

7. An owner of one house, acting without a broker, refuses to sell to a buyer because of the buyer's race. Under what statute is the refusal unlawful despite any Fair Housing Act exemption?

   42 U.S.C. 1982. Section 1982 bars all racial discrimination in property transactions.

8. What is the Fair Housing Act exemption for single-family homes?

   A sale or rental by an owner of no more than three single-family homes without a broker or discriminatory advertising. The exemption is lost if the owner uses a real estate agent.

9. What does familial status mean under the Fair Housing Act?

   Households with children under 18 living with a parent, guardian, or designee, including pregnant persons. Qualifying housing for older persons is exempt from the familial-status provisions.

10. What must a landlord provide to a tenant with a disability under the Fair Housing Act?

    Reasonable accommodations in rules and policies, and permission for reasonable modifications at the tenant's expense. In rentals, the landlord may require restoration of the interior where reasonable.

11. On what bases does the federal Fair Housing Act prohibit discrimination in housing?

    Race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability. These seven characteristics are the federally protected classes; state and local laws may add others.

12. Under Texas Department of Housing v. Inclusive Communities Project, what theory of liability is cognizable under the Fair Housing Act?

    Disparate impact. A plaintiff must show a robust causal connection between a challenged policy and the disparity.

13. What is the Fair Housing Act exemption for owner-occupied small buildings, often called the Mrs. Murphy exemption?

    An owner occupying one unit of a building with four or fewer units. The exemption does not apply to discriminatory advertising.

Study these flashcards