The State of Fair Housing in the 21st Century: Gaps in Legal Protection

Image Credit: National Fair Housing Alliance 

In the week following the Fair Housing Act's forty-fifth anniversary, much attention has been paid to how far we've come on the fair housing front and how far we still have to go. Earlier, this blog discussed how the U.S. housing market is from from perfect and free from discrimination and other writers, such as The Atlantic Cities' Emily Badger, have provided examples of the discrimination that exists generations after the signing of the Act and its 1988 amendments. The National Fair Housing Alliance recently released a report advocating more inclusive fair housing policies in the states that do not protect against housing discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, and source of income. According to the report, which compiled data on fair housing complaints during the past year, twenty-nine states allow legal housing discrimination based on sexual orientation, thirty-four states allow discrimination based on gender identity, twenty-nine states permit discrimination based on marital status, and thirty-seven states allow for the legal discrimination based on a prospective tenant's source of income, including alimony, child support, or vouchers. The extent to which millions of Americans are left vulnerable to discrimination with no actionable protection or legal recourse is astounding and illuminates the need for a fair housing rethink- it's been twenty-five years since more people were included as protected classes under the Act- and more comprehensive federal fair housing regulations.