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The 2024 election season is over and it’s Inauguration Day once again. But of course, political debate has no expiration date, especially on social media and in light of the ongoing global conflicts in Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine.
Have you ever wondered if real estate agents are facing career-threatening complaints because they are outspoken about their political positions, even though they haven’t wronged anyone? Politics? Can a landlord refuse to rent, a homeowner to refuse to sell, or an agent to refuse to show someone because of their opinion? What are the answers to these questions? Let’s check it out.
Injustice housing scattered in a salad of words
First, political beliefs are not protected by fair housing, but denials can intersect with unfair housing based on religion, race, or other protected classes. The most basic definition of politics simply refers to the way people living in a large community make decisions about resources (like, you guessed it, real estate).
Case in point: An agent in Idaho offered to list homes for free to liberals who wanted to leave the state. Real estate agent Mark Fitzpatrick, owner of Idaho Wild Real Estate, said he doesn’t feel the offer is discriminatory.
“He wants to be “lived by a people of … Biblical morals and ethics,” but “that people can be made up of … any race, religion, sex, or gender.” His post He said it was meant to be good-natured, but it stemmed from concerns about liberal politics.—”Idaho Statesman” writer Sarah Cutter.
If you’re wondering what’s wrong with that, it probably means you’re not the type of person to be hurt by this feeling. This means it’s important to hold up a mirror of empathy.
In other words, let’s put ourselves in the shoes of those who could be harmed by this stance. You can do that by imagining the inverse of this statement. So instead of saying he wants to live according to those with a Biblical worldview, let’s imagine he says he doesn’t want to live according to those with a Biblical worldview.
Well, what do you think? Do you think this is fair or does it violate religious rights?
blockbuster
Saying that prospective home sellers (and ultimately home buyers) must have “biblical morals” automatically excludes certain religions. Adding the memorandum “composed of people of all races, religions, sexes, and genders” is a sign that this real estate agent is blaming unfair housing, especially old-fashioned, but still practiced, forms of housing. It’s a salad of words that nicely camouflages the fact that you’re expressing your openness to others. Blockbusting and steering.
Just to be clear, these are signs of illegal blockbusting:
🚩 Pressure to sell tactics
🚩 Unsolicited offers
🚩 Eviction (desirable) of long-term residents
🚩Incorrect information
🚩 Targeted Marketing
🚩 Negative media campaigns (including social media)
🚩Discriminatory words
🚩 Community misinformation
steering
And these are signs of illegal steering:
🚩 Selected screenings
🚩 Negative comments about the neighborhood or neighbors
🚩Limited options
🚩 Promoting exclusivity
🚩 Ignoring client preferences
🚩 Pressure to choose specific areas
🚩 Focus on school quality
🚩Exaggerated claim
🚩 Avoid certain areas
🚩Inconsistent treatment
🚩 Overemphasis on demographic homogeneity
When it comes to protected classes like religion, if all or a combination of the above rears its ugly head, then “Houston (or in this case, Idaho), we have a problem.”
Not thoughtful, modest, or ethical.
Second, to be clear, real estate agents are bound by a code of ethics that allows us to buy, sell, and sell properties that consumers choose for themselves, not properties that we, real estate agents, want consumers to have. Authorized and regulated by law to support leasing.
Therefore, this is also an ethical issue. More specifically, the National Association of Realtors Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice includes:
Practice Standards 10-3
A real estate agent may print or display any statement or advertisement indicating a preference, restriction, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, national origin, or sexual orientation in connection with the sale or rental of real estate. , or distributed. , or gender identity. (Adopted on 1/94, number changed on 1/05 and 1/06, revised on 1/23)
Practice Standards 10-1
When involved in the sale or rental of housing, real estate agents must not volunteer information about the racial, religious, or ethnic composition of a neighborhood and must not engage in any activity that could cause panic sales. It won’t. However, your real estate agent may provide other demographic information. (Adopted on 1/94, revised in January 2006)
Yay! How does volunteering a statement to “live according to people of Biblical morality” conflict with these two standards?
However, it is important to note that both standards are directly related to the sale or lease of real estate. Enter one of the latest standards.
Practice Standards 10-5
Real estate agents may not use harassing language, hate speech, epithets, or slurs based on race, color, religion, gender, disability, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity. No. (Adopted and effective on November 13, 2020, amended on January 23)
This standard means we are held accountable for what we say during and outside of work hours. So what if you have political preferences that overlap with a protected class outside of the real estate trade (and frankly, most of us do)?
Months after losing his seat on his local city council, Wilson Fauver, a Virginia real estate agent and ordained minister, was faced with an ethics complaint regarding his marital preferences.
Did he receive this complaint as a result of a particular real estate transaction? He has marketed himself (directly or indirectly) by only working with people who support his views on marriage. Was it there? Did he use harassing speech, hate speech, epithets, or slurs?
The suit stems from Fauver posting about his religious beliefs about marriage on social media eight years ago. Since the complaint is based on ambiguous posts from nearly a decade ago, Mr. Fauver was recently questioned about whether he still held the same beliefs, so it appears he is not harassing his (prospective) customers. is.
This line of questioning suggests that while he may have lifestyle preferences, he is likely not requesting them from his (prospective) customers. It seems like there is no word for salad. But the lawsuit will likely reveal more evidence for or against Fauver.
Having a preference for how you live your life, regardless of the outcome of that particular complaint, is the same as having a bias that you project onto others, putting you at risk of violating fair housing laws. Not.
As a simple and silly example, if a real estate agent is a twin and has given birth to twins, she might have an affinity for all things twins, such as watching The Parent Trap or Sister, Sister over and over again. . But that’s different from showing obvious bias only against families with twins and asking families without twins to move to another state.
As real estate professionals, we are legally held to high standards of impartiality, which allows us to assert our personal preferences without cloaking our business transactions with bias. After all, more than one thing can be true at once when it comes to federal fair housing protected classes.
For me, this both/and (instead of either/or) looks like this:
Disability: I have no current accessibility needs and would work with anyone to provide the same level of care. Religion: I am a Christian and will work with anyone providing the same level of care. Family Structure: I am a single professional and will work with anyone to provide the same level of care. Race: I am black and will work with anyone to provide the same level of care. Color: I am heavily melanized and work with the same level of care as anyone. Gender: I am a woman and I work and provide the same level of care as anyone. Country of Origin: I am American and will work with anyone to provide the same level of care.
If you start including these statements in buyer/tenant brokerage agreements and seller/landlord listing agreements, they can be a good way (beyond the general Equal Housing Opportunity Statement) to build a legal document trail. It will be. Because we are a litigious society, we will go on record to claim that our beliefs and identities are consistent with the ethical and fair services we provide to everyone.
As costs (and litigation) increase, understanding affordable and fair housing is more important than ever.
Dr. Lee Davenport is a real estate coach/educator and author who trains real estate agents to provide real estate access and opportunity. Connect with her on Instagram.
