The federal Fair Housing Act, Title VIII of the Civil Liberty Act of 1968, was intended to protect the buyer/renter of a residence from seller/landlord discrimination. The law was the result of a civil rights project against housing discrimination in the United States. It was approved, at the advising of President Lyndon B. Johnson, just one week after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

. The Act is implemented by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

HUD takes a look at complaints of housing discrimination based upon race, color, faith, nationwide origin, sex, impairment, or familial status. At no charge to you, HUD will check out the grievance and try to solve the matter with both parties. The process to file a grievance is covered listed below.

NOTE: If you want to discover more about your rights as an occupant in Kansas, read this Kansas Tenant Handbook. It was initially published by the Kansas company Housing and Credit Counseling, Inc. (HCCI), which assists individuals in Kansas with a variety of consumer issues.

Here is a video to demonstrate how the Fair Housing Act safeguards you from discrimination on the basis of LGBTQ status.

This video discuss discrimination in Idaho, but it likewise uses to Kansas and other states also. If you feel you have been a victim of housing discrimination since of LGBTQ status, you can obtain help from KLS online or call the application line at 316-267-3975. Or you can learn how to file a grievance directly with HUD by going here.

What Housing Is Covered?

The Fair Housing Act covers most housing In many cases, the Act exempts owner-occupied structures without any more than 4 units, single-family housing sold or leased without a broker, and housing run by companies and private clubs that limit occupancy to members.

What Is Prohibited?

In the Sale and Rental of Housing: Nobody might take any of the following actions based upon race, color, national origin, religious beliefs, sex, familial status or handicap:

- Refuse to rent or offer housing
- Refuse to anticipate housing.
- Make housing unavailable
- Deny a dwelling
- Set various terms, conditions or benefits for sale or rental of a residence
- Provide various housing services or centers
- Falsely deny that housing is open for evaluation, sale, or rental
- For revenue, convince owners to sell or lease (blockbusting) or
- Deny anybody access to or subscription in a facility or service (such as a several listing service) related to the sale or rental of housing.

In Mortgage Lending: No one might take any of the following actions based on race, color, nationwide origin, faith, sex, familial status or handicap (special needs):

- Refuse to make a mortgage loan
- Refuse to provide information about loans
- Impose different terms or conditions on a loan, such as various rates of interest, points, or fees
- Discriminate in evaluating residential or commercial property
- Refuse to buy a loan or
- Set different terms or conditions for buying a loan.

In Addition: It is illegal for anybody to:

- Threaten, push, bully or disrupt anybody using a reasonable housing right or helping others who work out that right
- Advertise or make any declaration that suggests a cap or preference based upon race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or handicap. This bar against inequitable marketing uses to single-family and owner-occupied housing that is otherwise exempt from the Fair Housing Act.

Additional Protection if You Have a Disability

If you or somebody connected with you:

- Have a physical or mental special needs (consisting of hearing, movement and visual problems, persistent alcohol addiction, chronic psychological disease, AIDS, AIDS Related Complex and mental retardation) that significantly restricts one or more significant life activities
- Have a record of such a special needs or
- Are considered as having such a disability

Your property manager might not:

- Refuse to let you make realistic modifications to your residence or common use locations, at your cost, if needed for the disabled individual to use the housing. (Where rational, the landlord may allow changes just if you accept bring back the residential or commercial property to its original condition when you move.).
- Refuse to make reasonable variations in guidelines, policies, practices or services if needed for the handicapped person to use the housing.

Example: A building with a 'no family pets' policy should allow a visually impaired occupant to keep a guide canine.

Example: Let's say an apartment complex provides occupants sufficient, unassigned parking. They need to honor a quote from a mobility-impaired renter for a reserved area near her home if it is required to guarantee that she can have access to her apartment or condo.

However, housing need not be made uninhabited to an individual who is a direct risk to the health or security of others or who now uses controlled substances.

Requirements for New Buildings

In buildings that were prepared for first usage after March 13, 1991, and have an elevator and 4 or more units:

- Public and common locations need to be convenient to persons with disabilities.
- Doors and corridors should be large enough for wheelchairs.
- All units should have: - An available route into and through the unit.
- Handy light switches, electric outlets, thermostats and other environmental protections.
- Reinforced bathroom walls to permit later on fitting of grab bars and.
- Kitchens and bathrooms that can be utilized by people in wheelchairs.

If a structure with four or more systems has no elevator and were ready for very first use after March 13, 1991, these standards apply to ground floor systems.

These must-haves for new structures do not change any more rigid requirements in State or local law.

Housing Opportunities for Families

Unless a structure or neighborhood makes the grade as housing for older persons, it may not discriminate based upon familial status. That is, it might not victimize households in which one or more kids under 18 cope with:

- A parent.
- A person who has legal custody of the kid or children or.
- The designee of the parent or legal custodian, with the moms and dad or custodian's composed permission.

Familial status defense also uses to pregnant women and anyone protecting legal custody of a kid under 18.

Exemption: Housing for older individuals is exempt from the ban versus familial status discrimination if:

- The HUD Secretary has chosen that it is specially developed for and inhabited by elderly persons under a Federal, State or local federal government program or.
- It is inhabited exclusively by individuals who are 62 or older or.
- It houses a minimum of a single person who is 55 or older in a minimum of 80 percent of the occupied units. It must likewise stick to a policy that shows an intent to house individuals who are 55 or older.

A transition duration allows locals on or before September 13, 1988, to continue living in the housing, despite their age, without interfering with the exemption.

If you believe your rights have actually been breached ... The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), a Kansas or local fair housing agency is prepared to assist you file a complaint, or you can look for legal help from KLS online or call the application line at 1-800-723-6953. Go on the internet to HUD to find out how to file a problem.

What to Tell HUD

- Your name and address.
- The name and address of the person your problem is versus (the participant).
- The address or other description of the housing involved.
- A brief description of the supposed offense (the occasion that triggered you to think your rights were violated).
- The date of the supposed offense

Where to Write or Call:

Send a letter to the reasonable housing office closest you, or if you wish, you might call that office straight.

Great Plains Office-- Fair Housing Hub

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,

Gateway Tower II, 400 State Avenue, Room 200, fourth Floor,

Kansas City, KS 66101-2406

Telephone (913) 551-6958 or 1-800-743-5323

Fax (913) 551-6856

TTY (913) 551-6972

E-mail: Complaints_office_07@hud.gov!.?.! Have a look at our pages on Resolving legal

barriers to employment and housing and Facts about record expungement in Kansas. Read about Tenant issues and rights for Kansas renters Plain text -No HTML tags enabled.- Lines and paragraphs break automatically.- Websites addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.