The Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq., prohibits discrimination by direct providers of housing, such as landlords and real estate companies as well as other entities, such as municipalities, banks or other lending institutions and homeowners insurance companies whose discriminatory practices make housing unavailable to persons because of:

• race or color
• religion
• sex
• national origin
• familial status, or
• disability.

In cases involving discrimination in mortgage loans or home improvement loans, the Department may file suit under both the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.  The Department brings cases where there is evidence of a pattern or practice of discrimination or where a denial of rights to a group of persons raises an issue of general public importance. Where force or threat of force is used to deny or interfere with fair housing rights, the Department of Justice may institute criminal proceedings. The Fair Housing Act also provides procedures for handling individual complaints of discrimination. Individuals who believe that they have been victims of an illegal housing practice, may file a complaint with the Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD] or file their own lawsuit in federal or state court. The Department of Justice brings suits on behalf of individuals based on referrals from HUD.

FOR MORE INFO https://www.justice.gov/crt/fair-housing-act-1

The Wisconsin Fair Housing Law protects the rights of people in the rental or purchase of housing.

• It is unlawful to discriminate against a person in housing because of that person's protected class. The protected classes are shown on the chart below.
• All housing is covered under the law except when a person is seeking a roommate to share a dwelling.

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