Fair housing poster
A notice, bearing the Equal Housing Opportunity logo and slogan, that HUD requires real estate offices and housing providers to display where clients can see it, announcing that they do business without unlawful discrimination.
Key Takeaways
- The fair housing poster measures 11 inches by 14 inches and carries the Equal Housing Opportunity legend, under 24 CFR 110.25.
- The poster goes at the place of business where the dwelling is offered for sale or rental, and 24 CFR 110.15 requires it be prominently displayed so it is readily apparent to people seeking housing.
- Failing to display the poster is deemed prima facie evidence of a discriminatory housing practice under 24 CFR 110.30.
- The federal poster names seven protected classes, while RCW 49.60.222 protects more in Washington, including marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship or immigration status, and honorably discharged veteran or military status.
What It Means
The fair housing poster is the 11 by 14 inch notice that hangs in a real estate office, a rental office, or a model home. It carries the Equal Housing Opportunity heading and the line We Do Business in Accordance With the Fair Housing Act, then lists the conduct federal law bans: discrimination in the sale or rental of housing or residential lots, in advertising, in financing, in appraisal, and in the provision of real estate brokerage services. It states that blockbusting is also illegal, and it gives the address for complaints.
The poster is public notice, not paperwork. Someone walking through the door learns, before any conversation about price or qualifying, that this business is required to treat everyone the same and where to complain if it does not. That is why placement matters more than possession. A poster in a back hallway or a desk drawer does not do the job the rule asks of it.
Its wording tracks the federal Fair Housing Act, which is why Hud both prescribes the text and receives the complaints. The road to that federal law is covered in Events preceding the Fair Housing Act of 1968.
How It Works in Washington
The display requirement itself is federal. 24 CFR 110.10 applies it to persons subject to the Fair Housing Act's sale and rental provisions, and for a single family home offered through a broker it puts the poster at any place of business where the home is offered for sale or rental. 24 CFR 110.15 requires that all fair housing posters be prominently displayed so as to be readily apparent to people seeking housing or brokerage services.
What Washington adds is reach and consequences. RCW 49.60.222 lists the unfair practices in real estate transactions, and its Protected Class list runs past the seven printed on the federal poster: it also covers marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship or immigration status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, and the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability. RCW 49.60.222(1)(g) separately makes it an unfair practice to make, print, circulate, post, or mail a statement, advertisement, or sign indicating, directly or indirectly, an intent to discriminate, so what else hangs on that wall matters too. For a licensee, discrimination in real estate brokerage service activity on the basis of any local, county, state, or federal antidiscrimination law is a ground for disciplinary action under RCW 18.85.361(15), enforced by the Department of Licensing. Washington brokers refresh this every renewal cycle, as explained in Washington fair housing CE, why you almost certainly need just 3 hours.
Example
Alicia Nguyen is the designated broker of Northlight Realty's two person branch in Kent. The 11 by 14 poster hangs in the lobby, four feet inside the door and at eye level beside the license display, and a second copy hangs in the model home at a 22 lot subdivision the firm is selling.
In March a buyer who was never shown a $410,000 listing files a complaint. The investigator's first stop is the lobby, and she photographs the wall before she asks one question about the showing. Because the poster is up and readable, the firm answers the complaint on the facts of the showing. Had the wall been bare, 24 CFR 110.30 would have handed the complainant prima facie evidence of a discriminatory housing practice before those facts were ever reached.
Common Mistakes and Exam Traps
- Having the poster up is not a defense to a discrimination claim. It answers the posting rule and nothing else.
- A logo in a newsletter or a website footer is not the poster. 24 CFR 110.15 requires the poster itself be prominently displayed where housing seekers can readily see it.
- The classes printed on the federal poster are not Washington's full list. RCW 49.60.222 adds marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship or immigration status, veteran or military status, and the use of a trained dog guide or service animal.
- A missing poster is not a neutral oversight. Under 24 CFR 110.30 it is deemed prima facie evidence of a discriminatory housing practice.
Where you'll learn this
Frequently Asked Questions
Where exactly does the poster have to hang?
At any place of business where the dwelling is offered for sale or rental, under 24 CFR 110.10, and prominently enough to be readily apparent to people seeking housing, under 24 CFR 110.15. For a subdivision sold with model homes, the poster may hang at the model instead of at each individual home.
Does displaying the federal poster cover Washington's protected classes too?
No. The poster gives federal notice. Your Washington duties come from RCW 49.60.222, whose list is longer, and a licensee who discriminates under any state, local, or federal antidiscrimination law faces discipline under RCW 18.85.361(15).
Is the poster required at a rental office as well as a sales office?
Yes. 24 CFR 110.10 covers dwellings offered for sale or rental, and the poster goes at the place of business where the dwelling is offered. For dwellings other than a single family home listed through a broker, a poster also goes at the dwelling, with model homes allowed to stand in for individual units.