Fair Housing: Protected Classes, Prohibited Practices, and Advertising Traps
Fair housing questions test whether you can spot a discriminatory practice hidden inside ordinary brokerage language. Anchor yourself in the federal Fair Housing Act (race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, disability) and then add New York's broader Human Rights Law, which also protects sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, military status, source of income, and (in many contexts) arrest or conviction record. New York's source-of-income protection is a frequent exam target - refusing a Section 8 voucher is unlawful.
Covered conduct. Discriminatory refusal to sell, rent, or negotiate; different terms or conditions; steering buyers toward or away from neighborhoods; blockbusting (inducing panic sales by implying neighborhood demographic change); and redlining (lender/insurer geographic discrimination). A broker is liable for their own conduct and generally for discriminatory acts of their agents acting within scope - one reason office policy and supervision matter.
Disability specifics. Reasonable accommodations (rule changes) and reasonable modifications (physical changes, often at tenant expense) are required; service and assistance animals are not pets and cannot be subjected to pet fees or breed restrictions.
Trap to watch. "Describe the neighborhood" questions. Answering with demographic composition, religious institutions, or "good for families like yours" invites a violation. The safe response is objective property and community facts, or directing the customer to public data.
Worked example: A seller instructs the listing agent, "Don't show it to anyone with kids." The agent must refuse; familial status is protected, and following the instruction exposes both agent and broker to liability.