"Say what you like'' isn't one of the catch phrases of the real estate industry.

The reason: fair-housing laws. Federal and state regulations limit what real estate agents can tell prospective buyers, even if buyers get angry and walk away believing that an agent isn't doing his or her job.

Fair-housing laws are designed to ensure that consumers can buy or rent a house or apartment, and get financing, in whatever neighborhood they want regardless of racial or ethnic identity, color, gender, religious preference, the presence of a disability, family status, or national origin.

Such groupings are what diversity experts call "protected classes'' -- perhaps the fastest-growing segment of the consumer population. However, the care exercised to guarantee equal access and treatment is designed to benefit all buyers, sellers, renters and borrowers, whether they fall into a "protected'' category or not.

One result is that real estate pros use great caution when discussing matters which might be discriminatory.

For instance, according to NAR's Fair Housing Pocket Guide, Legal Liability Series, "If you make either complimentary or critical comments about schools based on the race of the homebuyer and the racial characteristics of the school population, you could be exposed to charges of racial discrimination".

William Thorne, the Fair Housing Compliance Administrator with the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors points out that while care is required, brokers and salespeople can "provide the home seeker with reliable and authoritative information -- student-teacher ratios, dollars spent per student, the percent of students that go on to college, etc."

As a result, agents routinely suggest that buyers directly contact school districts, or put buyers in contact with one of the multitude of "school reporting services" that have cropped up over the years.

The rules are summarized in guidelines adopted by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The words that might be considered loaded were determined by consensus among fair-housing groups, government agencies and real estate firms, and their use is typically monitored by state or local human relations commissions or private fair housing organizations.

The basis for the legal components of fair housing include:

• The Civil Rights Act of 1966, which prohibits racial discrimination in the sale and rental of property.

• The Fair Housing Act of 1968, which prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex and national origin. It was broadened in 1988 to protect families with children and people with disabilities.

• Title 3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination against the disabled in places of public accommodation and commercial facilities.

• The Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which makes it unlawful to discriminate against a credit applicant, and adds to the existing categories "marital status, age or because all or part of the applicant's income derives from any public-assistance program.''

• State and local laws, which often provide broader coverage, and prohibit discrimination against additional categories not covered by federal law.

Enforcement of federal law falls to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. In fact, HUD has an online complaint form to assist consumers.

In addition, much of the responsibility for ensuring such equal access has fallen to the real estate community.

"Most real estate agents like helping other people, and we don't view it as a burden,'' said Noelle Barbone, a Pennsylvania Realtor. "We believe that it's our job to look past the color and ethnic origin of people right to the house that's for sale.''

The real estate commissions in many states require fair-housing education for all agents. Barbone regularly teaches these courses, and so has to be on top of the latest changes.

NAR members must comply with all laws that guarantee fair housing, under Article 10 of the association's ethics code. If, for example, a seller or landlord wants an agent to unlawfully limit who can buy the house, the agent is bound to report it to his or her broker.

An MLS-member broker then notifies HUD, which enforces compliance, as well as the Multiple Listing Service, which will not put the house in its inventory of homes for sale.

"Fair housing starts with the seller or apartment owner,'' Barbone said. "We've been on the offensive since the beginning to reduce the number of complaints, so we see violations as less of an issue in our part of the area.

"I believe the consumer has finally caught up with the industry," Barbone said.

For more articles by Al Heavens, please press here.

Published: January 10, 2002

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Al Heavens writes about real estate and home repair and improvement. He is the author of What No One Ever Tells You About Renovating Your Home: Real-Life Advice For Hassle-free, Cost-Effective Remodeling.