As we reflect on the progress made, we also acknowledge the ongoing challenges in achieving truly fair and inclusive communities. Fair Housing Month serves as a reminder that access to safe, affordable housing is a fundamental right, and real estate management professionals play a role in ensuring equity in the housing market.
The Fair Housing Act applies to various housing types, ensuring broad protection against discrimination. This includes rental housing, apartments, houses, and homes for sale. It also encompasses public housing, subsidized housing, and other forms of government-assisted housing. This broad coverage is crucial for ensuring diverse housing options are accessible without discrimination.
IREM unequivocally supports the federal Fair Housing Act. We believe equal opportunity in housing can best be achieved through continued leadership, observance of law, education, and cooperation of the real estate industry and the public through a free and open housing market.
As an educational leader, IREM provides resources and tools to help real estate management professionals learn more about fair housing issues:
IREM believes in equal opportunity in housing and supports the right of all people to freely choose where they will live without the constraint of prejudice or discrimination. IREM opposes practices and policies that have a known discriminatory effect on any demographic group defined by race, color, religion, national origin, sex, handicap, familial status, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
Disparate impact is a policy or practice which is neutral on its face, but which disproportionately affects a group of people defined by one of the fair housing laws’ protected characteristics, without a legitimate business necessity for the practice.
IREM is opposed to policies and practices which are known to have a disparate impact on any demographic group defined by race, color, religion, national origin, sex, handicap, familial status, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
However, IREM supports the ability for real estate professionals to continue such policies or practices if there is a legitimate business purpose for the policy, and that purpose cannot be accomplished in a readily identifiable and not unduly burdensome means with a less discriminatory impact. IREM further opposes actions that require unreasonable research into whether such policies or practices have a disparate impact or discriminatory effect.
Some state and local governments have designated source of income as a protected class under their fair housing laws forcing property managers to accept tenant-based subsidies. By accepting these subsidies, landlords must also accept lease amendments to comply with government requirements.
We support government-assisted housing and making affordable housing available to all citizens. However, we believe that involvement in these programs should be voluntary and oppose any policies that require owners of private housing to surrender their property rights.
The selection of tenants and the terms of the contractual relationship are functions of the property owner or manager, not the government. Allowing certain tenants to have different (government-mandated) provisions included in their leases puts increased financial and administrative burdens on housing providers and may be unfair to other residents.
Thanks to the Fair Housing Act, we’ve made incredible strides over the past half century toward a housing environment with equal opportunity for all. However, few would argue that there’s not more work to be done in achieving a more equal housing market. IREM will continue our work to improve housing opportunities for all, by educating our members and working with HUD to ensure efficient and effective policy.