The Florida Fair Housing Act and the ADA
Florida has its own Fair Housing Act, Fla. Stat. 760.20 to 760.37. It closely tracks the federal law, so a licensee who knows the federal rules already knows most of the Florida rules.
Protected classes compared
| Class | Federal (42 U.S.C. 3604) | Florida (760.23) |
|---|---|---|
| Race | Yes | Yes |
| Color | Yes | Yes |
| Religion | Yes | Yes |
| Sex | Yes | Yes |
| National origin | Yes | Yes |
| Familial status | Yes | Yes |
| Disability | Yes, called "handicap" | Yes, called "disability" |
The lists match: seven classes each. Florida's 760.23(6) also extends familial status protection to anyone who is pregnant or is getting legal custody of a child under 18, just as the federal definition does. Neither statute lists age or marital status as a housing class.
Prohibited practices
Section 760.23 mirrors the federal list:
- refusing to sell, rent or negotiate after a bona fide offer (1);
- unequal terms, conditions or services (2);
- discriminatory notices, statements or ads (3);
- falsely saying a dwelling is unavailable (4);
- blockbusting for profit (5);
- disability discrimination, including refusing reasonable modifications or accommodations (7) to (9).
Section 760.25 covers lending and other residential real estate transactions, and 760.37 makes it unlawful to coerce, threaten or interfere with anyone exercising fair housing rights.
Exemptions
Section 760.29 has the same structure as federal law: the single-family house exemption (no more than three houses, one non-resident sale per 24 months, no real estate licensee, no discriminatory ad), the owner-occupied building of four units or fewer, religious organizations, private clubs, and housing for older persons (62 and older, or 55 and older with the 80 percent rule).
Florida spells out who is "in the business of selling or renting dwellings": anyone who, in the prior 12 months, was a principal in three or more such transactions, or an agent in two or more (other than for their own residence), or who owns a dwelling designed for five or more families.
Filing a Florida complaint
Complaints go to the Florida Commission on Human Relations and must be filed within 1 year after the alleged practice occurred (760.34(2)). A person may also go to court without first exhausting administrative remedies (760.34(4)).
The ADA in a brokerage office
The Fair Housing Act covers dwellings. The Americans with Disabilities Act, Title III, covers places of public accommodation, which include offices that serve the public. The statute's list includes insurance offices, offices of accountants and lawyers, and "other service establishment[s]," and a brokerage office open to customers is generally treated as one.
Title III requires:
- no discrimination on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of goods and services (12182(a));
- removal of architectural barriers in existing facilities where readily achievable, meaning easily done without much difficulty or expense (12182(b)(2)(A)(iv); 12181(9));
- if removal is not readily achievable, offering the services by alternative methods that are readily achievable, such as meeting a client at an accessible location (12182(b)(2)(A)(v)).
The ADA generally does not govern private homes a licensee lists. Those are covered by fair housing law.