The New York Times, May 31, 2024, What Is Fair Housing?
A federal fair-housing law prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, ethnicity, religion and other factors, like gender identity and disability. That applies to any number of scenarios, in which such discrimination has occurred: a homeowner refusing to negotiate a sale; a landlord failing to make repairs; a mortgage lender denying a loan.
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act on April 11, 1968, days after the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. The law, initially focused on racial discrimination, was the linchpin of the broader Civil Rights Act of 1968 and was later expanded to include other factors.
