The Costly Mistakes To Avoid When Running Ads For Your Rental Property

Wording you need to avoid in the ads for your rental home or risk being fined $50,000 and more.

Now is the time to take action if you think your ads are violating Fair Housing law.

Fair Housing regulations must be followed by all owners. Fair Housing regulations apply to apartments and homes.

Do not post any discriminatory concepts within your ads. Section 804-c of the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 3604-c reads, “…it is unlawful to make, print, or publish, or cause to be made, printed, or published, any notice, statement, or advertisement, with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling, that indicates any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination.”

So when you advertise your home for rent on Craigslist, a website, or even an in-print ad, there are certain words you should not use.

You can be fined more than $10,000 for each discriminatory ad, plus damages in court.

Do not refer to a persons skin color and do not use the words, “white”, “black”, “Hispanic”, “colored home”, and “no Hispanics”. Don’t even try to work race into the advertising of your home.

Do not use religion in your advertising. It is NOT ok to use the phrase “Jewish home” or “Christian only”.

Be careful with using the wording “upscale neighborhood”. It is better to use the phrase “desirable neighborhood”. Desirable is open to interpretation of the individual and is therefore not considered discriminatory.

You should not discriminate against people who have a disability of some kind. It is not legal to use the wording “no wheelchairs” or “handicap people need not apply”. It is legal to mention accessibility features for people with handicaps such as “wheelchair ramp included”. You can also discriminate against certain types of behavior or conduct like saying “no smoking” is legal.

You should never mention children or parents in your ads. Never use wording like “adults only” or “no children”. In December of 2007, a Southern California Housing Rights Center took a landlord to court and won because the landlord did not allow children in his apartment complex. The court fined the landlord over $130,000.

Do not state an explicit preference, limitation or discrimination based on familial status in your ads. Ads may not contain limitations on the number or ages of children, or state a preference for adults, couples or singles. Advertisements describing the properties (two bedroom, cozy, family room), services and facilities (no bicycles allowed) or neighborhoods (quiet streets) are not facially discriminatory and do not violate the Fair Housing Act.

Fair Housing law does not end with your ads but continues through the application process and remain in effect during the entire time a tenant stays in your home.