What are the protected classes under Fair Housing Law?

Fair Housing Law in North Carolina protects certain classes of individuals from discrimination when it comes to housing. These classes, or “protected classes,” include families with children, religion, national origin, sex, race, color, disability, and familial status. All of these characteristics are protected from discrimination when it comes to access to residential housing, housing choice, housing terms and conditions, and residential real estate-related transactions. Families with children are protected from discrimination because housing providers cannot refuse to rent to individuals with children or charge them higher fees for rental units. The familial status protection also means housing providers must allow children under the age of 18 to live with their parents or guardians. Religious individuals have protection against discrimination based on their belief system, and discrimination based on national origin is illegal. Sex discrimination remains illegal, meaning housing providers cannot create rules or policies that favor one sex over another. Discrimination because of race, color, disability, and familial status is illegal as well. Race and color discrimination includes any differential treatment based on physical appearance related to race or skin color. Disability discrimination involves treating individuals with disabilities differently from those without disabilities and denying persons with disabilities access to housing. Lastly, familial status discrimination is illegal to protect families with children from being treated differently in, for example, a housing advertisement.

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What are the protected classes under Fair Housing Law?

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