The federal Fair Housing Act, Title VIII of the Civil Liberty Act of 1968, was intended to secure the buyer/renter of a house from seller/landlord discrimination. The law was the result of a civil liberties project against housing discrimination in the United States. It was authorized, at the prompting of President Lyndon B. Johnson, only one week after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

. The Act is enforced by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

HUD analyzes complaints of housing discrimination based on race, color, faith, national origin, sex, disability, or familial status. At no cost to you, HUD will explore the grievance and attempt to deal with the matter with both celebrations. The procedure to file a grievance is covered listed below.

NOTE: If you want to discover more about your rights as a renter in Kansas, read this Kansas Tenant Handbook. It was originally published by the Kansas company Housing and Credit Counseling, Inc. (HCCI), which assists individuals in Kansas with a range of consumer concerns.

Here is a video to show how the Fair Housing Act secures you from discrimination on the basis of LGBTQ status.

This video speak about discrimination in Idaho, but it likewise applies to Kansas and other states as well. If you feel you have been a victim of housing discrimination due to the fact that of LGBTQ status, you can look for assistance from KLS online or call the application line at 316-267-3975. Or you can discover how to file a grievance directly with HUD by going here.

What Housing Is Covered?

The Fair Housing Act covers most housing In many cases, the Act excuses owner-occupied buildings without any more than four units, single-family housing offered or leased without a broker, and housing run by companies and personal clubs that limit tenancy to members.

What Is Prohibited?

In the Sale and Rental of Housing: Nobody may take any of the following actions based on race, color, national origin, faith, sex, familial status or handicap:

- Refuse to lease or offer housing
- Refuse to imagine housing.
- Make housing unavailable
- Deny a residence
- Set different terms, conditions or benefits for sale or leasing of a home
- Provide different housing services or facilities
- Falsely reject that housing is open for evaluation, sale, or leasing
- For profit, convince owners to offer or lease (blockbusting) or
- Deny anybody access to or subscription in a facility or service (such as a several listing service) associated to the sale or leasing of housing.

In Mortgage Lending: Nobody might take any of the following actions based upon race, color, nationwide origin, religion, sex, familial status or handicap (impairment):

- Refuse to make a mortgage loan
- Refuse to offer information about loans
- Impose various terms or conditions on a loan, such as various rate of interest, points, or fees
- Discriminate in evaluating residential or commercial property
- Refuse to purchase a loan or
- Set different terms or conditions for purchasing a loan.

In Addition: It is illegal for anybody to:

- Threaten, push, bully or disrupt anyone applying a reasonable housing right or helping others who work out that right
- Advertise or make any declaration that indicates a cap or preference based on race, color, national origin, faith, sex, familial status, or handicap. This bar against discriminatory marketing uses to single-family and owner-occupied housing that is otherwise exempt from the Fair Housing Act.

Additional Protection if You Have a Disability

If you or someone gotten in touch with you:

- Have a physical or psychological disability (including hearing, movement and visual disabilities, persistent alcohol addiction, chronic mental disorder, AIDS, AIDS Related Complex and psychological retardation) that significantly restricts one or more significant life activities
- Have a record of such an impairment or
- Are considered as having such a disability

Your landlord may not:

- Refuse to let you make practical modifications to your home or common usage locations, at your expense, if needed for the handicapped individual to use the housing. (Where logical, the landlord may allow modifications only if you consent to restore the residential or commercial property to its initial condition when you move.).
- Refuse to make practical variations in rules, policies, practices or services if required for the disabled individual to utilize the housing.

Example: A building with a 'no pets' policy need to allow an aesthetically impaired renter to keep a guide dog.

Example: Let's state a home complex offers occupants sufficient, unassigned parking. They should honor a quote from a mobility-impaired tenant for a reserved space near her house if it is needed to assure that she can have access to her home.

However, housing need not be made uninhabited to a person who is a direct risk to the health or security of others or who now utilizes prohibited drugs.

Requirements for New Buildings

In structures that were ready for very first usage after March 13, 1991, and have an elevator and 4 or more systems:

- Public and common areas should be useful to individuals with impairments.
- Doors and hallways need to be broad enough for wheelchairs.
- All systems should have: - An available route into and through the system.
- Handy light switches, electrical outlets, thermostats and other environmental protections.
- Reinforced restroom walls to enable later on fitting of grab bars and.
- Bathroom and kitchens that can be utilized by people in wheelchairs.

If a building with four or more units has no elevator and were all set for very first use after March 13, 1991, these requirements use to ground floor units.

These must-haves for brand-new structures do not replace anymore strict standards in State or local law.

Housing Opportunities for Families

Unless a structure or community makes the grade as housing for older individuals, it may not discriminate based on familial status. That is, it may not discriminate against households in which one or more children under 18 cope with:

- A parent.
- A person who has legal custody of the child or kids or.
- The designee of the moms and dad or legal custodian, with the parent or custodian's composed permission.

Familial status defense likewise applies to pregnant females and anyone securing legal custody of a kid under 18.

Exemption: Housing for older persons is exempt from the ban against familial status discrimination if:

- The HUD Secretary has decided that it is specially designed for and inhabited by elderly persons under a Federal, State or city government program or.
- It is occupied entirely by individuals who are 62 or older or.
- It houses at least a single person who is 55 or older in at least 80 percent of the occupied systems. It should likewise adhere to a policy that shows an intent to house persons who are 55 or older.

A shift period allows homeowners on or before September 13, 1988, to continue residing in the housing, no matter their age, without interfering with the exemption.

If you believe your rights have actually been broken ... The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), a Kansas or local fair housing company is prepared to assist you submit a grievance, or you can use for legal help from KLS online or call the application line at 1-800-723-6953. Go on the internet to HUD to find out how to submit a grievance.

What to Tell HUD

- Your name and address.
- The name and address of the person your complaint is versus (the respondent).
- The address or other description of the housing involved.
- A short description of the alleged violation (the occasion that caused you to think your rights were violated).
- The date of the alleged violation

Where to Write or Call:

Send a letter to the fair housing workplace nearby you, or if you want, you might call that workplace straight.

Great Plains Office-- Fair Housing Hub

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,

Gateway Tower II, 400 State Avenue, Room 200, 4th Floor,

Kansas City, KS 66101-2406

Telephone (913) 551-6958 or 1-800-743-5323

Fax (913) 551-6856

TTY (913) 551-6972

E-mail: Complaints_office_07@hud.gov!.?.! Check out our pages on Resolving legal

barriers to employment and housing and Facts about record expungement in Kansas. Check out Tenant concerns and rights for Kansas renters Plain text -No HTML tags allowed.- Lines and paragraphs break immediately.- Websites addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links immediately.