Practice of Real Estate, Disclosures, Fair Housing, and Consumer Protection
Fair housing basics
The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in sale or rental based on race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity per current HUD interpretation), national origin, familial status, and disability. Missouri's Human Rights Act adds ancestry and is enforced through the Missouri Commission on Human Rights. Prohibited practices include refusing to show or rent, different terms, discriminatory advertising, steering, blockbusting (panic selling), and redlining. Limited exemptions exist for certain owner-occupied dwellings, religious organizations, private clubs, and housing for older persons qualifying under the 55+ rules.
Disability rules
Reasonable modifications are at the tenant's expense (with restoration); reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, or services are at the landlord's expense. Assistance animals are not pets - no pet deposit or pet fee may be charged.
Required disclosures
Agency relationships in writing; Missouri's residential seller disclosure statement (with limited statutory exemptions); lead-based paint in pre-1978 housing; known material defects; and, for licensees, any personal interest in the transaction. RESPA forbids fee splitting for referrals that were not earned, and consumer-protection statutes reach deceptive advertising and privacy/data-security lapses.
Traps
Examiners mix up accommodation versus modification, and they love ads that describe an "ideal" buyer or "safe neighborhood." Remember the exemption is narrow and never permits a blanket refusal.
Worked example
A tenant with a disability asks to keep a service dog in a no-pets building. You must allow it as a reasonable accommodation, waive pet rent and pet deposits, and you may not require the animal to be certified.