Federal law makes it illegal for landlords to refuse housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, or family status

The Fair Housing Act, passed in 1968 and expanded since, forbids landlords from discriminating in rental decisions. This means a landlord cannot reject your process, charge you more rent, offer worse lease terms, or evict you because of who you are. The law covers apartments, single-family homes, condos, and most other rental housing — though owner-occupied buildings with four or fewer units have limited exemptions.

Discrimination can be direct (a landlord says "I don't rent to people of your religion") or indirect (a landlord enforces a rule that sounds neutral but targets a protected group). Both are illegal. The law applies whether you are renting from a large management company or a private owner, and it applies whether the discrimination is intentional or happens because of a policy the landlord did not think through.

State and local laws often go further than federal law. Some states and cities add protections for sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, source of income, or criminal history. Your state or city may have stronger rules than the federal baseline, so it is worth checking what applies where you live.

Key Takeaways

  • Federal law protects you from housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, and family status, and some states add more protected categories.
  • Discrimination can be direct refusal or an indirect policy that has a discriminatory effect, such as a rule that sounds neutral but blocks one group.
  • You can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) within one year of the discrimination, and HUD investigates at no cost to you.
  • Landlords can still make decisions based on credit history, income, criminal background, or rental history — as long as they explore the same standard to all applicants.
  • If you win a discrimination case, you may recover back rent, damages, attorney fees, and an order forcing the landlord to rent to you or change their practices.

What counts as housing discrimination under federal law

The Fair Housing Act lists seven protected categories. A landlord cannot discriminate based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy and sexual harassment), disability, or familial status (having children under 18, or being pregnant). These are the categories HUD enforces at the federal level.

Discrimination happens when a landlord treats you worse than other applicants because of one of these traits. Examples include: refusing to show you a unit, charging you a higher deposit or rent, requiring you to sign a stricter lease, refusing to make a reasonable accommodation for a disability, or evicting you while letting others with similar lease violations stay. A landlord can also discriminate by steering — showing you only certain units or neighborhoods based on your protected status, or discouraging you from explore.

The law also covers familial status discrimination, which means a landlord cannot refuse to rent to you because you have children, are pregnant, or plan to have children. A landlord cannot charge families higher rent, require larger deposits, or impose stricter rules on children than on other tenants. However, a landlord can enforce occupancy limits based on the size of the unit (such as "no more than two people per bedroom"), as long as the limit is applied equally to all applicants.

Discrimination that is hard to see: policies that have a disparate impact

Some of the most common discrimination is not obvious. A landlord may have a rule that sounds neutral but actually blocks people in a protected group from renting. This is called disparate impact discrimination, and it is illegal even if the landlord did not intend to discriminate.

Examples include: a "no criminal history" rule that is enforced only against Black applicants; a policy requiring a minimum credit score that is not applied to all applicants equally; a rule against "Section 8" tenants (people using housing vouchers), which disproportionately affects low-income families and families of color; or a rule that families with children cannot occupy ground-floor units. A landlord can have these policies, but only if they explore them equally to everyone and can show a legitimate business reason for the rule.

If you suspect a landlord is using a neutral-sounding rule to block your process, ask the landlord in writing what criteria they used to reject you, and ask whether they applied the same rule to other applicants. Keep the response — it is evidence if you file a complaint.

What landlords are legally allowed to consider

Landlords can make decisions based on factors that are not protected. A landlord can refuse to rent to you based on your credit score, income, rental history, or criminal background — but only if they explore the same standard to all applicants. If a landlord rejects you for a low credit score but accepts another applicant with the same score, that is discrimination. If a landlord has a policy against renting to anyone with a felony conviction, the policy must be applied equally; if the landlord makes exceptions for some applicants but not others, that can signal discrimination.

A landlord can also consider whether you have a stable income to pay rent, whether you have been evicted before, and whether you have damaged previous rental properties. The key is consistency: the landlord must use the same rules for everyone.

Disability is different. A landlord cannot refuse to rent to someone with a disability, even if the disability affects income or requires accommodations. A landlord must make reasonable accommodations — changes to rules, policies, or the physical space — to allow someone with a disability to use and enjoy the rental. Examples include allowing a service animal (even if the building has a "no pets" policy), permitting an emotional support animal, allowing a wheelchair user to install a ramp, or adjusting the process process for someone with a cognitive disability.

How to report housing discrimination to HUD

If you believe a landlord has discriminated against you, you can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). You have up to one year from the date of the discrimination to file. HUD investigates the complaint at no cost to you, and you do not need a lawyer to file.

To file, contact HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. You can file online at hud.gov/fairhousing, by phone at 1-800-669-9777 (TTY 1-800-927-9275), or by mail to your regional HUD office. When you file, have ready: the landlord's name and address, the date of the discrimination, a description of what happened, and the names of any witnesses. HUD will ask you to sign a complaint form.

HUD will investigate by contacting the landlord, asking for documents (like your process and the applications of other tenants), and interviewing witnesses. The investigation usually takes 30 to 120 days. If HUD finds evidence of discrimination, it will try to settle the case. If the landlord and you cannot agree, HUD can file a charge with an administrative law judge, or you can file a lawsuit in federal court.

State and local discrimination laws that go beyond federal protection

Many states and cities have added their own protected categories. Some states protect renters based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Others protect based on source of income (such as whether you receive housing vouchers, disability benefits, or child support), marital status, or criminal history (meaning a landlord cannot automatically reject anyone with a record; they must consider the nature and age of the offense). A few states protect based on political affiliation or military status.

If your state or city has added protections, you can file a complaint with your state's fair housing agency or your city's human rights commission instead of (or in addition to) HUD. State and local agencies sometimes move faster than HUD and may offer additional remedies. To find your state's fair housing agency, search "[your state] fair housing" or contact your state's attorney general's office.

What happens if you win a discrimination case

If you prove that a landlord discriminated against you, you can recover money damages. This includes actual damages (such as the difference between the rent you paid elsewhere and the rent the landlord was charging), punitive damages (extra money meant to punish the landlord for intentional discrimination), and attorney fees and court costs. You may also be awarded the rental unit itself — a court can order the landlord to rent to you on the terms you originally sought.

Beyond money, a court can order the landlord to change their practices, such as retraining staff, changing process criteria, or posting a notice that the landlord will not discriminate. If the landlord violates the order, they can face additional penalties.

Damages vary widely depending on the facts. A case where a landlord refused to show you a unit might result in a few thousand dollars; a case involving years of harassment or a pattern of discrimination across many tenants might result in much more. An attorney who handles fair housing cases can give you a sense of what your case might be worth.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a landlord refuse to rent to me because I receive Section 8 housing vouchers?

No. Refusing to rent to someone because they use a housing voucher is illegal in most places, though the law varies by state and city. Some states and cities explicitly protect voucher holders; others treat it as national origin or race discrimination because voucher holders are disproportionately people of color and low-income families. If a landlord refuses you because of your voucher, file a complaint with HUD or your state's fair housing agency.

What if a landlord says they rejected me for my credit score, but I think it was really because of my race?

You can challenge this by asking the landlord for the credit score threshold they use and whether they applied it to other applicants. If the landlord rejected you at a score of 650 but accepted another applicant at 640, that is evidence of discrimination. You can also look for a pattern: if the landlord rejects all applicants of your race but accepts applicants of other races with worse credit, that is strong evidence. File a complaint with HUD and provide this evidence.

Does a landlord have to make accommodations for my disability if it costs money?

Yes, unless the cost is unreasonable. A landlord must make reasonable accommodations, which sometimes includes paying for modifications. For example, a landlord must allow you to install a wheelchair ramp or grab bars, or must pay for them if you cannot. However, if an accommodation would cost thousands of dollars or fundamentally change the building, a landlord may argue it is not reasonable. If you disagree, you can file a complaint with HUD.

Can a landlord ask about my immigration status or national origin?

A landlord can verify that you have the legal right to work in the United States (as required by federal employment law), but cannot discriminate based on national origin or immigration status. A landlord cannot refuse to rent to you because you have an accent, speak another language at home, or were born outside the United States. If a landlord asks invasive questions about your immigration status or national origin, that may be discrimination.

What if the landlord is also the owner and lives in the building?

Owner-occupied buildings with four or fewer units are exempt from some Fair Housing Act rules, but not all. Even in a small owner-occupied building, a landlord cannot discriminate based on race, color, or national origin. Discrimination based on religion, sex, disability, or familial status is also illegal in owner-occupied buildings. The exemption mainly applies to advertising and the use of a broker. If you believe you were discriminated against in a small owner-occupied building, file a complaint with HUD.