What is Fair Housing?
The Fair Housing Act, passed in 1968, created protected classes to ensure that all people have equal access to housing. These protected classes cannot be discriminated against when being considered for rentals, homes, and loans. There are federal protected classes and state-specific protected classes.
Nationwide, you cannot discriminate or be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex including gender identity or expression, familial status, or disability. Rhode Island law added more classes to prevent discrimination on the basis of marital status, military status, retaliation, lawful source of income, housing status, age, or if a person has been a victim of domestic abuse.