The Fair Housing Act Expands Protections

On Thursday, February 11, 2021, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) announced that LGBTQ Americans would be protected under the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”). Initially passed in 1968, the FHA protects against housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin. As originally drafted, the FHA does not extend its protections to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

However, in 2020, the Supreme Court held that discriminating on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation would require treating someone differently based on their sex. Using this ruling as its basis, HUD, under the Biden administration, has extended the Fair Housing protections to millions of LGBTQ Americans.

Do you want more information regarding the specific protections under the Fair Housing Act? Please see our article “Fair Housing Law – What is Expected of Owner Associations?”, recently updated by attorney Eric McLennan.