Equal Opportunity In Housing is the law of the land and the right of all in this country without regard to race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.
Civil Rights Act of 1866
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 provides that ³All citizens of the United States shall have the same right, in every State and Territory as is enjoyed by white citizens thereof to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold and convey real and personal property.”
In the case of Jones vs. Mayer decided on June 17, 1968, the U. S. Supreme Court held that the 1866 law prohibits “all racial discrimination, private as well as public, in the sale or rental of property.”
Fair Housing Act
In Title VIII of the 1968 Civil Rights Act known as the Federal Fair Housing Law Congress declared a national policy of fair housing throughout the United States.
The law made illegal any discrimination in the sale, lease or rental of real property based on race, color religion, sex or national origin. The law required that all people be treated equally with respect to the terms or conditions of sale, purchase, lease or rental and with no denial of equal housing opportunity based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
The Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 was enacted September 13, 1988 (and became effective March 12, 1989) to strengthen the administrative enforcement provision of Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, to add prohibitions against discrimination in housing on the basis of handicap (mental and physical) and familial status (families with children under age 18), and to provide stiffer penalties for violations relating to discriminatory housing practices.
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