BEWARE: RENT INCREASES MAY BE A FAIR HOUSING DANGER
As the cost of living and doing business continues to rise, property management companies may consider raising the rent to keep up with expenses. In the first half of 2022, the average percentage change in rent was 12.2% for new tenants and 3.5% for the same tenants. With rent increases trending up, what potential fair housing dangers should landlords and property management companies be on the lookout for?
The Fair Housing Act was signed into law in 1968 to combat discrimination in housing. The law prohibits properties from denying housing or setting different terms and conditions of tenancy based on a person’s protected class status. These protections extend to all aspects of housing, including advertising, leasing, and rent increases. While rent increases are a common practice, you need to beware that they carry potential fair RAISING RENT AND PROTECTED CLASSES
housing dangers. This article will focus on private market properties as federally funded or tax credit properties fall under completely different and somewhat complicated criteria. That being said, private market properties must be cautious when implementing rent increases to ensure they do not even appear to be discriminatory and of course under no circumstance violate fair housing laws.
Protected classes under the law include:
RACE
COLOR
NATIONAL ORIGIN
RELIGION
SEX
FAMILIAL STATUS
DISABILITY
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