Protected class

Key Takeaways

• A protected class names a reason that may not drive a housing decision. It is not a group that receives preferential treatment, and membership does not by itself win a complaint.
• The federal Fair Housing Act names seven characteristics: race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability.
• Washington's real estate list in RCW 49.60.222 is longer, adding marital status, sexual orientation, creed, citizenship or immigration status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, and use of a trained dog guide or service animal.
• Washington defines sexual orientation to include gender expression or identity, so gender identity is protected without appearing as a separate item in the statutory list.

What It Means

A protected class is a shared human characteristic that the law places off limits as a basis for a housing decision. It is not a category of people who receive preferential treatment, and it is not a list of complainants who automatically win. It is a list of reasons a seller, landlord, lender, or broker may not act on. Everyone has a race, a sex, and a national origin, so the protection runs in every direction rather than toward one group.

Two lists operate at the same time on a Washington transaction. The federal Fair Housing Act sets a national floor of seven characteristics: race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability. The Washington Law Against Discrimination then adds several more for real estate, among them marital status, sexual orientation, creed, citizenship or immigration status, and honorably discharged veteran or military status. Where the two differ, a broker follows the longer state list, because meeting the state standard also satisfies the federal floor. The practical question in any complaint is never whether a person belongs to a class, but whether the class was the reason for the decision.

How It Works in Washington

The controlling real estate list for Washington sits in RCW 49.60.222(1). It makes it an unfair practice to discriminate in a real estate transaction because of sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, families with children status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability.

Two definitions in RCW 49.60.040 carry real weight. Sexual orientation is defined to include gender expression or identity, which is how gender identity is covered without a separate entry in the list. Honorably discharged veteran or military status covers a veteran as defined in RCW 41.04.007 and any active or reserve member of the armed forces, including the national guard. Complaints go to the Washington State Human Rights Commission, and RCW 49.60.230(2)(a) gives a real estate complainant one year from the date the unfair practice occurred or terminated, rather than the six months that applies to most other Washington discrimination complaints.

Example

Renata Cole lists a townhome in Lacey at $480,000. Two offers arrive the same afternoon. Ivan Petrov, an active duty soldier stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, offers $492,000 using a VA-guaranteed loan. A second buyer offers $485,000 with a conventional loan. The seller tells Renata to take the $485,000 offer, saying he does not want to deal with a military buyer because they transfer out.

The reason the seller gave is the buyer's military status, which RCW 49.60.222(1) protects. Renata may not act on that instruction, and following it would expose her along with the seller. It is also a $7,000 decision, the spread between $492,000 and $485,000. Notice the line the exam tests. A seller comparing objective differences between two financing packages, such as appraisal timing or contingency terms, is exercising business judgment. A seller who names the buyer's protected trait as the reason has stated the violation out loud.

Common Mistakes and Exam Traps

• Protected class means the trait may not be the reason for the decision. It does not mean the class member must be selected, and not every rejection of a class member is discrimination.
• Washington's real estate list in RCW 49.60.222 is not word for word the same as the civil rights declaration in RCW 49.60.030. Check which activity a question is about before reciting a list from memory.
• Marital status and families with children status are separate traits in Washington. Federal law protects familial status only, so a state answer and a national answer can legitimately differ on marital status.
• Source of income is protected for residential tenants by RCW 59.18.255 in the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act. It is not an entry in the Law Against Discrimination class list.