Fair Housing Laws Law and Legal Definition
Fair housing laws are the federal, state and local laws which forbid discrimination based on race, sex, color, religion or national origin in the selling or renting of homes, apartments and in other transactions. These laws are codified in Title VIII of the 1968 Civil Rights Act, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Civil Rights Act of 1866.
The following is an example of a state statute (Virginia) on fair housing law:
Va. Code Ann. § 36-96.1 reads;
.A.This chapter shall be known and referred to as the Virginia Fair Housing Law.
B.It is the policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia to provide for fair housing throughout the Commonwealth, to all its citizens, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status, or handicap, and to that end to prohibit discriminatory practices with respect to residential housing by any person or group of persons, in order that the peace, health, safety, prosperity, and general welfare of all the inhabitants of the Commonwealth may be protected and insured. This law shall be deemed an exercise of the police power of the Commonwealth of Virginia for the protection of the people of the Commonwealth.
