Housing Providers

Protected Classes

The federal Fair Housing Act makes it illegal for landlords, homeowners’ associations, real estate agents, mortgage brokers, lenders, insurance companies, and others to discriminate against anyone based on the following factors:

Federal Protected Classes

Race, color, national origin, sex, religion, familial status (presence of children under 18), and disability.

State Protected Classes

All federal classes plus: creed, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and military/veteran status.

City and County Protected Classes

All federal and state protected classes plus: Section 8 voucher holders (Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Vancouver, and unincorporated King County), age (Seattle, Tacoma and unincorporated King County), ancestry (Tacoma and unincorporated King County), and political ideology (Seattle).

Training & Education

Landlords, property management companies, real estate agents, mortgage brokers, appraisers, inspectors, lenders, and insurance companies are also subject to fair housing laws. We provide private training services for all housing providers, including housing authorities and government agencies.

The Fair Housing Center has completed training under contract for a variety of housing providers including:

  • Tacoma Housing Authority
  • Skagit County non-profit housing and emergency shelters
  • Snohomish County-Camano Association of REALTORS®
  • HNN Associates Senior Housing Assistance Group
  • Indigo Real Estate Services, Inc.
  • Premier Residential
  • ConAm Management Corporation

If you are interested in discussing private fair housing training, please contact us by phone at (253) 274-9523, or by email at info@fhcwashington.org.

Contract Testing

We provide services for private housing providers and jurisdictions to gain an understanding of potential violations and incidences of housing discrimination in their area or properties. The Fair Housing Center is the only entity in western Washington that provides fair housing testing services. Since 1995, the agency’s pool of trained testers has conducted approximately 2,000 rental, sales, and mortgage lending tests, including successful complaint-based and audit testing for discrimination against persons with disabilities, national origin, sex, familial status, marital status, religion, Section 8, sexual orientation, gender identity, and race.

The Fair Housing Center has completed testing under contract for the following entities:

  • U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
  • National Fair Housing Alliance
  • Washington State Human Rights Commission
  • Seattle Office for Civil Rights
  • King County Office of Civil Rights
  • Tacoma Human Rights and Human Services
  • Northwest Fair Housing Alliance
  • City of Bellingham
  • Private property management companies

If you are interested in discussing a private fair housing testing contract, please contact us by phone at (253) 274-9523, or by email at info@fhcwashington.org.