Have You Been Discriminated Against?

You apply for an apartment or house. They tell you it’s been taken. Later you find out that the home is still available. Maybe they made a mistake, or maybe they discriminated against you.

For example:

• Faizah just got her Section 8 Voucher. She finds an apartment she can afford and the landlord agrees to rent to her. Faizah tells the landlord she has Section 8. The landlord never calls her back. The landlord may have discriminated against Faizah.
• Juan is Mexican-American. He and his wife are looking for a house to buy. He sets up an appointment to see houses with a realtor. Juan sees a house he likes and can afford. He and his wife decide to make an offer. When they call the realtor, she says someone else has already made an offer. A week later, Juan notices that the house is still being advertised on the realtor's website. The realtor and seller may have discriminated against Juan.

Did someone only show you housing in certain neighborhoods or buildings? This could be housing discrimination.

For example:

• Carolyn is white. She goes to see an apartment. The landlord tells Carolyn that she doesn't think Carolyn will want to live in this neighborhood. Carolyn asks why. The landlord says she has another apartment in a neighborhood Carolyn will like better. Carolyn sees the other apartment. She notices that only white people live in the second neighborhood. The landlord may be discriminating against Carolyn by assuming she only wants to live in an all-white neighborhood.
• Sarah is African-American. She wants to buy a house. She goes to a realtor. The realtor only shows Sarah houses in poor neighborhoods. The realtor may have assumed that Sarah could only afford to live in a poor neighborhood because she is African-American. The realtor may have assumed that Sarah would "feel more comfortable" living in a poor neighborhood. If the realtor assumed these things, this is housing discrimination.

When a landlord seems interested in renting to you but suddenly decides not to, this could be housing discrimination.

For example:  

• Mike applies for an apartment. The landlord seems interested in renting to Mike. Then Mike tells the landlord he has children. The landlord tells Mike there isn't a play area or lawn and that he thinks Mike would rather live somewhere else. The landlord may have discriminated against Mike.
• Janiyah's parents are from India. Janiyah is looking for an apartment. Everything goes fine on the phone. But when the landlord meets Janiyah at the apartment, the landlord rushes through showing her the apartment. Janiyah likes the apartment and says she wants to take it. The landlord says he still has some more appointments today and says he'll call Janiyah. The landlord never calls. The landlord may have discriminated against Janiyah.

Does your landlord have different rules for you than for other people in your building? This could be housing discrimination.

For example:

• Donna lives in a mobile home park. The park has a swimming pool. The mobile home park owner lets everyone at the park swim in the pool except children. This is housing discrimination.
• Sam and Judy's landlord tells them they can't put a menorah in their window or hang a mezuzah on their door. Sam and Judy's landlord lets their neighbors hang a Christmas wreath on their door. This is housing discrimination.

If you read, see, or hear an ad that makes you think that the landlord prefers or discourages certain kinds of people as renters, this could be housing discrimination.

For example:

• Quan is looking for an apartment for his family. He sees an ad for a three-bedroom apartment. The ad says "quiet, professional couple preferred." Quan doesn't call the ad because he believes the landlord won't want to rent to him because he has children. The landlord and the newspaper discriminated against Quan because their ad discouraged him from applying.
• Tom is looking for an apartment. He sees an apartment ad. The ad has a picture of a Christian cross in it. Tom isn't Christian. Tom doesn't call because he believes that the landlord only wants to rent to Christians. The landlord and the newspaper discriminated against Tom because their ad discouraged Tom from applying.

If someone harasses you or tries to scare you away from living somewhere because they think you're "different," this could be housing discrimination.

For example:

• Jamel is from Somalia. He applies for an apartment. The landlord says he thinks people in the neighborhood aren't used to Somalis and will make life hard for Jamel if he moves in. The landlord discriminated against Jamel by passing on a threat.
• Anne's landlord says he'll lower her rent if she has sex with him. This is sexual harassment. The landlord has discriminated against Anne because she's a woman.
• The other tenants in Frank's building say racist things to Frank and harass him. Frank asks his landlord to do something about it. The landlord doesn't do anything. Both the landlord and the neighbors have racially discriminated against Frank.