Sales
Real estate sales transactions are covered under fair housing laws like any other housing related transaction. In sales, the most common forms of violations are refusal of services – refusal to sell by owners or refusal to represent by real estate agents – and steering.
Unfortunately, there is a long and ugly history of housing discrimination based upon
outright refusals by sellers, real estate agents, and others to permit members of various
protected classes from engaging in real estate sales transactions.
Some common fair housing violations in sales transactions:
- Provide different housing services or facilities;
- Falsely deny that housing is available for inspection, sale, or rental;
- Steering due to race, color, or national origin;
- For profit, persuade owners to sell or rent (blockbusting); or
- Deny anyone access to or membership in a facility or service (such as a multiple listing service) related to the sale or rental of housing.
FHCCI Videos of Interest:
- History of Redlining
- History of Real Estate Sales Discrimination in Indianapolis
- Reverse Redlining 101
Government Guidance:
- Guidance on Application of the Fair Housing Act to the Advertising of Housing, Credit, and Other Real Estate-Related Transactions through Digital Platforms, U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, April 29, 2024
Sales Resources:
Sales Case Examples:
- National Fair Housing Alliance v. Coldwell Banker Joe T. Realty
- National Fair Housing Alliance v. Peter J. Riolo Real Estate
General Sales Reports of Interest:
- Long Island Divided, Newsday, November 2019
- Real Estate Agents as Agents of Social Change: Redlining, Reverse Redlining, and Greenlining, Seattle Journal for Social Justice, 2013
Racial Covenants:
- “These covenants are to run with the land:” the Hidden History of Housing Segregation in Muncie, Indiana, Bryan Preston, November 3, 2017
- You Can’t Live Here: The Enduring Impacts of Restrictive Covenants, National Association of Realtors, 2018
- Mapping Prejudice Project, Mapping of racial covenants in Minneapolis, MN
Equity Theft:
-
Greenville Business Owner Convicted in Federal Court of Conspiracy to Defraud, September 19, 2019
Sale and Maintenance of REOs (Real Estate Owned Properties/Foreclosures):
- Reports of Interest
- Here Comes The Bank, There Goes Our Neighborhood: How lenders discriminate in the treatment of foreclosed homes, National Fair Housing Alliance, April 11, 2011
- The Banks Are Back – Our Neighborhoods Are Not: Discrimination in the Maintenance and Marketing of Foreclosed Properties, National Fair Housing Alliance, April 4, 2012
- Zip Code Inequality: Discrimination by Banks in the Maintenance of Foreclosed Homes in Neighborhoods of Color, National Fair Housing Alliance, September 3, 2014
We also encourage you review our Appraisals, Lending and Insurance pages.