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Practice Of Real EstateFair_housingHARD

A licensed broker in Oklahoma manages a 12-unit apartment complex. She has a policy requiring all applicants to provide references from two prior landlords. A recent immigrant from Mexico applies and cannot provide two prior Oklahoma landlord references because he rented in Mexico before moving to the United States. The broker denies the application solely because the applicant cannot meet the two-reference requirement. The applicant files a fair housing complaint alleging national origin discrimination. Which of the following best analyzes the broker's potential liability?

Correct Answer

A) The broker may have liability under a disparate impact theory if the two-reference requirement disproportionately excludes recent immigrants and is not justified by business necessity

Fair housing law recognizes two theories of discrimination: disparate treatment (intentional discrimination) and disparate impact (a facially neutral policy that disproportionately harms a protected class without sufficient business justification). A two-prior-landlord-reference requirement may have a disparate impact on recent immigrants, who disproportionately lack domestic rental history, thereby screening out applicants based on national origin. Under fair housing principles applicable in Oklahoma through Title 25 O.S. §§ 1451-1466 and consistent with federal fair housing law, the broker could face liability if the policy is not justified by business necessity or if less discriminatory alternatives exist.

Answer Options
A
The broker may have liability under a disparate impact theory if the two-reference requirement disproportionately excludes recent immigrants and is not justified by business necessity
B
The broker has no liability because the two-reference policy is facially neutral and applied uniformly to all applicants
C
The broker has no liability because the Oklahoma Fair Housing Act does not recognize disparate impact claims, only intentional discrimination
D
The broker has no liability because landlord references are a legitimate business requirement unrelated to national origin

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Related Topics & Key Terms

Key Terms:

fair_housingnational_origindisparate_impactscreening_policyrecent_immigrants

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