Fair Housing Laws
Fair Housing Act Here's what you need to know about the federal Fair Housing Act, as it relates to Landlords' Rights:
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• The federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) prohibits housing discrimination based on
race or color, religion, sex, family status, national origin, or disability. People
who smoke are not a protected class of citizens with respect to the federal Fair
Housing Act.
• The FHA prohibits discrimination against people with disaabilities, including those with severe breathing problems.
• The FHA is important because it allows people with breathing disabilities to seek reasonable accommodations from owners and operators of most housing in order to address the serious health hazards posed by secondhand smoke that infiltrates their housing.
Download an analysis of how the federal FHA applies to situations involving secondhand smoke in apartments.
Download HUD's FHA complaint form.
Maine Human Rights Act
• The Maine Human Rights Act also prohibits discrimination in housing on account of physical disability.
• Discrimination includes the refusal to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services when those accommodations are necessary to give that person equal opportunity to use and enjoy the housing.