The Fair Housing Act’s protections extend to the way you advertise your brokerage services and the properties with which you are working. This means that in addition to abiding by Alabama real estate license law’s regulations for advertisements, you must also be mindful that your advertisements do not run afoul of the FHA.

Below, we explore the FHA’s requirements regarding advertisements and provide tips related to each protected class.

The FHA prohibits using “words, phrases, photographs, illustrations, symbols, or forms of any kind” that state a preference for a certain protected class. Most REALTORS® know that an explicitly stated preference based on a protected class, such as “seeking a Christian roommate,” a preference based on religion, or “no children allowed,” a preference based on familial status, is a violation of the FHA, but discrimination can sometimes be less obvious. Certain words and phrases, although not overtly discriminatory, can imply a preference based on a protected class, and these less obvious examples are also a FHA violation.

One quick step that you can take to demonstrate your commitment to abiding by the FHA is to include the fair housing logo or the phrase “equal housing opportunity” on your advertisement. Although this alone is not enough to overcome an allegation of discrimination, it will be considered along with other factors. Even with the logo or phrase, however, you should be mindful of the words and images that your advertisements use.

Creating an advertisement for a property that expresses a preference based on race or skin color is an obvious violation of the FHA. Unfortunately, investigations regularly demonstrate racial discrimination in advertisements. Always be mindful of the types of people that you depict in your advertisements. When possible, it’s preferable to eliminate people from the advertisement entirely, instead focusing on the property. Although it’s unlikely that a complaint would be filed against you for images alone, they could certainly be considered if an investigation is opened. For example, if an Asian individual accused you of preferential treatment toward white individuals, and every advertisement that you made depicted a white person, that fact would likely be used against you.

National origin can include a person’s ethnicity, ancestry, culture, and language. For example, say you are the only apartment complex in town that has employees who speak Spanish. It would be logical for you to want to make sure that people who speak Spanish are aware of the service that you offer, but the specific way that you go about advertising that information will determine whether you are in violation of the FHA or not:

• An advertisement that you targeted specifically toward individuals of Latin origin or descent would violate the FHA because you are choosing who receives your advertisement based on national origin while intentionally keeping the advertisement away from people of a different national origin.  
• An advertisement that is written in Spanish and distributed broadly would not violate the FHA. Although only people who speak Spanish can read it, that is not a limitation based on national origin because people from all different countries can potentially speak Spanish. The same goal is achieved – attracting Spanish-speaking consumers – but without violating the FHA.

Some terms that we commonly use imply a preference for one sex over the other, even if we don’t realize it. For example, we often call a spare room a “man cave” or a guest house a “mother-in-law suite.” Although the goal of those terms is not to state a preference for a particular sex, they can be interpreted in this way. Therefore, it is preferable to use gender-neutral terms such as “spare room,” “bonus space,” “guest house,” etc. 

A common issue is advertising a new development as being “perfect for growing families.” Such a statement expresses a preference for individuals with children, which is a federally protected class. Instead, try focusing on the amenities that make the property good for families. For example, “Our apartment complex offers fun for people of all ages with an outdoor pool, splash pad, playground, and state-of-the-art workout facility.” When you do this, you create a stronger advertisement by highlighting the best aspects of your property while simultaneously avoiding potential FHA trouble.

Many REALTORS® often ask whether their advertisements may state that an area is “walkable” or “within walking distance” of a destination. We recommend avoiding these terms for two primary reasons. First, such terms can appear to express a preference for individuals without a disability. Moreover, these terms are subject to interpretation since what’s considered “walkable” to one person may not be to someone else. If you want to highlight a property’s proximity to an attraction, it’s best to list the actual distance, rather than framing the property as “walkable.”

Religion is another area in which explicitly stating a preference is wrong, but you may not immediately realize the presence of an implied statement of preference. One common issue is including religious symbols, such as a cross, star of David, or crescent and star in one’s business cards, email signature, brochures, etc. Of course, everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and to practice those beliefs, but consider how symbols reflecting those beliefs may be interpreted by others. For example, if all of your business materials have Christian imagery on them, will consumers of other religions feel comfortable working with you? You should work to ensure that individuals from all backgrounds know that you are a professional who will have their best interests at heart, so it is best to remove any religious imagery from your professional documents.