Fair Housing Compliance Checklist

Confirm every leasing agent, property manager, and maintenance tech with tenant contact has completed fair housing training within the past 12 months. NAA, NARPM, and most state apartment associations offer accredited courses. The 2021 HUD guidance extending Title VIII to sexual orientation and gender identity is current curriculum — older courses may not cover it.

Block the noncompliant employees from running tours, processing applications, or handling accommodation requests until training is complete. A single agent operating without current training exposes the entire firm under vicarious liability.

Federal FHA covers seven classes; many states and cities add source of income (Section 8 vouchers, SSI/SSDI, child support), age, marital status, military status, and arrest record. Pull the current protected-class list for every jurisdiction the firm operates in — NY, NJ, MA, CA cities all add source-of-income protection.

Retain certificates for at least the FHA two-year statute-of-limitations window plus any longer state retention rule. HUD investigators routinely request training records as part of any complaint intake.

Review every active listing on Zillow, Apartments.com, Realtor.com Rentals, the firm site, and Facebook Marketplace. Flag steering language: "perfect for young professionals," "ideal for couples," "walking distance to St. Mary's," "quiet building." HUD's 1995 advertising guidance treats these as familial-status, religion, or disability proxies.

Take violating listings down within 48 hours. Rewrite using property-feature language (square footage, bedroom count, amenities) rather than tenant-profile language. Re-syndicate only after broker-of-record sign-off.

HUD-required on print ads, signage, the firm website footer, and lease packets. The fair-housing-poster (HUD-928.1) must be visibly posted in any leasing office that meets the public — staple the photo of each office's posted notice into the audit file.

Listing only on Facebook (which has demographic targeting history) or only in a single ethnic-community publication can constitute steering even with neutral copy. Confirm broad syndication across at least three major channels for every vacancy.

Codify the income multiplier (typically 3x rent), minimum FICO, rental-history requirements, and eviction lookback in writing. Uniform written criteria is the firm's primary defense against disparate-treatment claims at the screening stage.

In jurisdictions with source-of-income protection (NY, NJ, MA, many CA cities, Cook County, etc.), "we don't accept Section 8" is a per-se violation. The income multiplier must be calculated against rent minus the voucher portion, not gross rent. Audit the last 30 application denials to confirm voucher applicants were evaluated on the same criteria.

Pull 20 random applications from the last 90 days. Confirm each denial maps to a written criterion, each approval applied the same criteria, and no agent notes reference protected-class characteristics. Disparate-impact patterns surface here before HUD complaints do.

Every credit- or background-based denial requires an FCRA adverse action notice naming the reporting agency (TransUnion SmartMove, RentPrep, Experian RentBureau) with their contact info and the applicant's right to dispute. Missing notices pair with class-action FCRA litigation.

Pull every accommodation and modification request from the past 12 months. Each should show date received, interactive-dialogue notes, supporting documentation requested, decision, and date the tenant was notified. Gaps in this log are a HUD complaint waiting to happen.

Service animals and ESAs with proper letters get no pet rent, no pet deposit, and no breed or weight restriction. Audit AppFolio/Buildium pet ledgers — any "pet rent" charge against an assistance animal is an FHA violation. HUD's January 2020 ESA notice (FHEO-2020-01) is the current evaluation framework.

Process refunds through the resident ledger and document the credit memo. Self-correction before a HUD complaint is filed materially reduces exposure; conciliation agreements with HUD typically require this anyway.

Under the FHA, the tenant pays for modifications in private housing; the landlord pays for accommodations (policy changes). For HUD-funded properties, the landlord pays for both. Confirm the firm's policy distinguishes the two and applies the right rule per property type.

The Keating Memo (1998) sets two-persons-per-bedroom as a presumptive reasonable standard, but state law and unit configuration can change that. Stricter standards risk familial-status discrimination claims. Document the rationale for any deviation.

Pool hours, guest policies, noise enforcement, parking — selective enforcement against families with children is a common familial-status claim. Pull the last 90 days of rule-violation notices and confirm distribution doesn't cluster on any protected class.

Confirm the lead-based paint disclosure is in every pre-1978 file, plus any state-required addenda — bedbug (NYC), mold (CA, FL, TX), Megan's Law (CA), flood (TX, NJ). Missing the federal lead disclosure triggers per-violation HUD/EPA penalties.

Audit every complaint received in the past 12 months — internal, HUD, state agency, fair housing center test results. Each should show intake date, investigator, findings, resolution, and tenant notification. Untracked complaints are the leading indicator of pattern-or-practice exposure.

Any complaint older than 30 days without a documented resolution goes to outside fair housing counsel. HUD complaints have a 100-day investigation window — running out the clock without a written response is the worst possible posture.

Confirm tenants have a written, in-language path to file a complaint that doesn't route through the staff member who is the subject of it. Post the HUD 1-800-669-9777 number and the state fair housing agency contact in the leasing office and tenant portal.

The broker of record or designated compliance officer signs the completed audit packet, noting any open remediation items and the date each will be closed. File the signed packet for the FHA two-year retention minimum.