Federal Protected Classes
~11 min read · Name the seven federal classes and the conduct the Fair Housing Act prohibits.
Federal fair housing rests on seven protected classes — race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, disability — and one absolute rule from 1866: race has no exceptions, ever. The exam tests the list, the statutes behind it, and what conduct the Act reaches.
The statutes
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 bars ALL racial discrimination in property transactions — no exemptions of any kind — upheld in Jones v. Mayer (1968). The Fair Housing Act (Title VIII, 1968) built the modern regime: originally race, color, religion, national origin; sex added 1974; familial status and disability added by the 1988 amendments. HUD administers; sex discrimination is interpreted to include sexual orientation and gender identity under current enforcement.
- 1866 Act: race, absolutely, no exemptions (Jones v. Mayer)
- FHA 1968 + 1974 (sex) + 1988 (familial status, disability)
- Seven federal classes; states and cities add more
The seven classes, precisely
Race, color, religion, national origin, sex are self-describing. Familial status = households with children under 18, pregnant persons, and those securing custody — 'adults only' buildings died in 1988, save the senior-housing exemption (62+ housing, or 55+ where 80% of units have an occupant 55+). Disability (handicap) = physical or mental impairment substantially limiting major life activities — including recovering addiction (not current illegal use), AIDS/HIV. NOT federal classes: marital status, age, source of income, occupation, student status — though many states protect them.
- Familial status: kids under 18, pregnancy, custody
- Senior exemptions: 62+ absolute, or 55+/80% rule
- Disability includes recovery and HIV status
- Marital status and income source: state-level only (ECOA differs)
Covered conduct
The Act reaches refusal to sell/rent/negotiate, discriminatory terms and conditions, discriminatory advertising (an independent violation with NO exemptions), false representations of unavailability, steering, blockbusting, redlining, harassment, and retaliation. Coverage spans sales, rentals, financing, insurance, and brokerage services — and advertising rules bind even exempt sellers.
Worked example
A fourplex owner tells his agent: 'No families with young kids — the balconies scare me; no unmarried couples either; and honestly I'd rather not rent to people from that new immigrant community.' The building is ordinary market housing. Which instructions can anyone lawfully follow?
Instruction one: familial status is a federal class — 'no young kids' is illegal (safety fears don't create exemptions; balcony worries are addressed by railings, not exclusions), unless the property qualified as senior housing, which an ordinary fourplex does not. Instruction two: marital status is NOT a federal FHA class — but many states protect it; the generic exam answer flags it as state-law-dependent (and ECOA protects it in lending). Instruction three: national origin — flatly illegal. The agent's duty: refuse the unlawful instructions and, if the owner insists, decline the listing — an agent following discriminatory instructions violates the Act personally; 'the client told me to' is no defense.
Common exam pitfalls
Adding marital status or income to the federal list.
Seven federal classes only — marital status is ECOA (credit) and state law; source of income is state/local.
Inventing safety exceptions to familial status.
Children cannot be excluded from ordinary housing for 'their own safety' — only qualified senior housing exempts.
Following a client's discriminatory instruction.
Obedience stops at illegality — refuse, educate, and withdraw if pressed; liability is personal.
Seven on the shield: race, color, religion, nation, sex, family, disability — and race stands alone with zero exceptions since 1866.
Recap
- 1866 Act: race, no exemptions ever (Jones v. Mayer)
- FHA classes: race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, disability
- Familial status: under-18 children, pregnancy, custody; senior housing exempts
- Disability includes recovery and HIV
- Covered: sales, rentals, ads, financing, brokerage, harassment, retaliation
- Agents refuse discriminatory instructions or exit
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