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The Fair Housing Act protects people from discrimination when they are renting or buying a home, getting a mortgage, seeking housing assistance, or engaging in other housing-related activities.

Complaint Form

If you need to submit a complaint about a violation of your housing rights, fill out the Housing Discrimination Inquiry Form.

Fair Housing Training

We provide trainings for housing providers, property management and those involved in housing services.

Our trainings are available virtually and in-person. Complete the Request Form online or contact the training team at CRDTraining@twc.texas.gov.

Monthly Webinar

Join us on every first and third Tuesday from 10:00 - 11:00 (CST) where we discuss Fair Housing and Housing Accommodations. This is a free webinar for those interested in their rights or those that manage or own properties.

The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing because of:

  • Race
  • Color
  • National Origin
  • Religion
  • Sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation)
  • Familial Status
  • Disability

In the Sale and Rental of Housing:

It is illegal discrimination to take any of the following actions because of race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, familial status, or national origin:

  • Refuse to rent or sell housing
  • Refuse to negotiate for housing
  • Otherwise make housing unavailable
  • Set different terms, conditions or privileges for sale or rental of a dwelling
  • Provide a person different housing services or facilities
  • Falsely deny that housing is available for inspection, sale or rental
  • Make, print or publish any notice, statement or advertisement with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation or discrimination
  • Impose different sales prices or rental charges for the sale or rental of a dwelling
  • Use different qualification criteria or applications, or sale or rental standards or procedures, such as income standards, application requirements, application fees, credit analyses, sale or rental approval procedures or other requirements
  • Evict a tenant or a tenant’s guest
  • Harass a person
  • Fail or delay performance of maintenance or repairs
  • Limit privileges, services or facilities of a dwelling
  • Discourage the purchase or rental of a dwelling
  • Assign a person to a particular building or neighborhood or section of a building or neighborhood
  • For profit, persuade, or try to persuade, homeowners to sell their homes by suggesting that people of a particular protected characteristic are about to move into the neighborhood (blockbusting)
  • Refuse to provide or discriminate in the terms or conditions of homeowners insurance because of the race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, familial status, or national origin of the owner and/or occupants of a dwelling
  • Deny access to or membership in any multiple listing service or real estate brokers’ organization

In Mortgage Lending:

It is illegal discrimination to take any of the following actions based on race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, familial status, or national origin:

  • Refuse to make a mortgage loan or provide other financial assistance for a dwelling
  • Refuse to provide information regarding loans
  • Impose different terms or conditions on a loan, such as different interest rates, points, or fees
  • Discriminate in appraising a dwelling
  • Condition the availability of a loan on a person’s response to harassment
  • Refuse to purchase a loan

Harassment:

The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to harass persons because of race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, familial status, or national origin. Among other things, this forbids sexual harassment. 

Retaliation and Other Prohibitions:

It is illegal discrimination to:

  • Threaten, coerce, intimidate or interfere with anyone exercising a fair housing right or assisting others who exercise the right
  • Retaliate against a person who has filed a fair housing complaint or assisted in a fair housing investigation

Under the Fair Housing Acts a reasonable accommodation is a change, exception, or adjustment to a rule, policy, practice, or service. The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to refuse to make reasonable accommodations to rules, policies, practices, or services when such accommodations may be necessary to afford persons with disabilities an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling and public and common use areas.

In addition, the Fair Housing Act prohibits a housing provider from refusing to permit, at the expense of the person with a disability, reasonable modifications of existing premises occupied or to be occupied by such person if such modifications may be necessary to afford such person full enjoyment of the premises.

To submit a housing discrimination complaint these requirements must be met:

  • The property must be within the state of Texas.
  • The property owner, in most cases, must have more than three properties.
  • You must submit your complaint within one year from the date of the discrimination.
  • Your complaint must identify the housing discrimination.

Cooperation is important and failure may result in a dismissal of your complaint.

A complaint cannot be filed with both TWC and Housing and Urban Development (HUD).