Fair Housing Act of 1968

Fair Housing Act of 1968
U.S. Government · Public domain · source
Shorttitle	Fair Housing Act
Othershorttitles	Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968
Longtitle	An act to prescribe penalties for certain acts of violence or intimidation, and for other purposes.
Colloquialacronym	FHA
Enacted by	90th
Effective date	April 11, 1968
Public law url	http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-82/pdf/STATUTE-82-Pg73.pdf
Cite public law	90-284
Cite statutes at large	82 Stat. 73
Acts amended	Civil Rights Act of 1964
Title amended	42 U.S.C.: Public Health and Social Welfare
Sections created	42 U.S.C. ch. 45 § 3601 et seq.
Leghisturl	http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d090:HR02518:@@@R
Introducedin	House
Introducedby	Rep. Emanuel Celler (D-NY)
Introduceddate	January 17, 1967
Committees	House Judiciary
Passedbody1	House
Passeddate1	August 16, 1967
Passedvote1	327–93
Passedbody2	Senate
Passeddate2	March 11, 1968
Passedvote2	71–20
Agreedbody3	House
Agreeddate3	April 10, 1968
Agreedvote3	250–172
Signedpresident	Lyndon B. Johnson
Signeddate	April 11, 1968

Fair Housing Act of 1968 The Fair Housing Act of 1968 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits discrimination concerning the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin, and sex. Enacted as Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, it was a direct legislative response to the pervasive housing discrimination and racial segregation that defined American cities and suburbs. Its passage, coming just days after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., represents a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement, aiming to dismantle legal barriers to equal housing opportunity.

Background and legislative history

The push for federal fair housing legislation gained momentum throughout the 1960s, fueled by the Civil Rights Movement and increasing awareness of systemic racial discrimination in housing. Practices like redlining by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Home Owners' Loan Corporation, restrictive covenants, and outright refusal to sell or rent to African Americans and other minorities had created deeply segregated communities. Prior legislative efforts, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, had not addressed housing. President Lyndon B. Johnson had proposed a fair housing bill in 1966, but it faced fierce opposition in Congress, particularly from Southern Democrats and some suburban representatives. The bill languished until the national turmoil following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, created immense political pressure for its passage as a tribute to King's work. The Senate, led by Democratic leader Mike Mansfield and Republican Everett Dirksen, broke a filibuster, and the House subsequently passed the broader Civil Rights Act of 1968, with the Fair Housing Act as its core, on April 10. President Johnson signed it into law the following day.

Provisions of the Act

The Act made it unlawful to refuse to sell or rent a dwelling, to discriminate in terms or conditions, or to advertise housing indicating a preference based on the protected classes. Its original protected classes were race, color, religion, and national origin. A notable amendment added sex as a protected characteristic during the Senate debate. The law also prohibited discriminatory practices by a wide range of entities, including real estate agents, landlords, banks, and other mortgage lenders. For example, a lender could not deny a mortgage or impose different terms based on the race of the applicant or the racial composition of the neighborhood—a practice central to redlining. The Act also mandated that the HUD Secretary administer the law, though initial enforcement powers were weak, relying primarily on conciliation.

Impact on housing discrimination

The Fair Housing Act had a profound, though incomplete, impact on overt housing discrimination. It effectively ended the legality of explicit, racially restrictive covenants and "whites-only" rental policies. However, more subtle forms of discrimination, such as steering (guiding clients to or away from neighborhoods based on race) and differential treatment of minority home-seekers, persisted. The Act provided a crucial legal tool for individuals and organizations like the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to challenge discriminatory practices in court. Over time, it helped facilitate greater, though still limited, residential integration and provided a foundation for the growth of the black middle class by improving access to housing and homeownership, a primary means of wealth building in America.

Enforcement and legal challenges

Initial enforcement of the Act was notoriously weak, as the original law only allowed the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to mediate complaints, not to issue rulings or penalties. This changed significantly with the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, which strengthened HUD's enforcement authority. Key legal challenges have shaped the Act's scope. The Supreme Court, in cases like Trafficante v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. (1972), broadly defined who could file a lawsuit. In Havens Realty Corp. v. Coleman (1982), the Court upheld "testers"—individuals who pose as renters or buyers to gather evidence of discrimination—as having standing to sue. The landmark case Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co. (1968), decided under a different Reconstruction-era statute (42 U.S.C. § 1982), concurrently affirmed the federal government's power to ban private racial discrimination in housing sales.

Connection to broader Civil Rights Movement

The Fair Housing Act is intrinsically linked to the goals of the broader Civil Rights Movement. Leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. had long highlighted segregated housing as a root cause of economic inequality and educational segregation. The 1966 Chicago Freedom Movement, led by King and local activists like Albert Raby and the Coordinating Council of Community Organizations, directly targeted slum conditions and housing discrimination in the North, demonstrating that racism was not solely a Southern issue. The Act's passage, catalyzed by King's assassination, represented a final major legislative achievement of the classic phase of the movement. It expanded the federal commitment to civil rights into the private housing market, addressing what activists termed "the last frontier of open freedom."

Subsequent amendments and related legislation

The Fair Housing Act has been amended several times to expand its protections and strengthen enforcement. The most significant amendment was the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, which added disability and familial status (protecting families with children) as protected classes. It also gave HUD the power to initiate investigations and pursue cases before administrative law judges, and it allowed for the imposition of civil penalties. Other related legislation includes the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (1974), which prohibits discrimination in lending, and the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (1975), which requires financial institutions to report data on mortgage lending. At the state and local level, many jurisdictions have passed laws that provide even broader protections, covering categories like sexual orientation and gender identity. These amendments reflect the ongoing effort to combat both overt and systemic barriers to fair housing.