Subject 9 of 19
Federal, state, and local anti-discrimination duties, protected characteristics, prohibited conduct, exemptions, advertising, and bias awareness.
3 chapters 12 lessons 5 free practice questions
Read the rule, try the recall check, then continue to the next lesson.
Chapter 1
Learn how federal fair housing law developed, what it prohibits, how disability protections work and where narrow exemptions end.
Exam rule
Housing discrimination did not begin in 1968. Segregation and unequal access had already shaped neighborhoods, ownership and family wealth. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 protected equal property rights against racial discrimination, a century before the Fair Housing Act arrived. Three cases mark the turns. Plessy v. Ferguson accepted separate but equal treatment in 1896, Buchanan v. Warley rejected government racial zoning in 1917, and Brown v. Board of Education rejected school segregation in 1954. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 reached public accommodations and jobs. It was not the Fair Housing Act. Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 became that Act, and Jones v. Mayer confirmed that the 1866 law reaches private racial discrimination as well. The 1968 Act first covered race, color, religion and national origin, the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 added sex, and the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 added familial status and handicap. Federal materials now use disability for the statutory word handicap. The seven federal classes are race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status and disability. Familial status includes pregnancy and households with a child under 18 in legal custody.
Why it matters
The timeline explains why several federal laws can apply to one housing case. It also keeps the original classes separate from later additions.
New York scenario
A question lists age with the seven federal classes. Age is protected by New York law, but not among the federal seven.
Common misconception: Do not treat the 1964 Act as the Fair Housing Act. Also count race and color as separate federal classes.
Check your recall
It protected equal property rights and bars racial discrimination in property transactions.
The 1974 law added sex. The 1988 law added familial status and handicap, now commonly called disability.
Race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status and disability.
Exam rule
Federal law covers home sales, rentals and many related services. A provider may not refuse a home because of a protected class, and different prices, deposits, lease terms, services, facilities or amenities can break the law just as easily. False statements about availability are banned. So are biased ads and notices. The law reaches housing loans, mortgage terms, appraisals and brokerage services. Harassment may make a home unavailable or change its terms, and threats, coercion, interference and retaliation are banned as well. A violation can happen before an application, during a tenancy or after a complaint. Fair housing testers compare how providers treat people with similar profiles. A tester need not plan to rent or buy before gathering evidence.
Why it matters
The law covers more than a final refusal. Compare each person's access, facts, terms and service during the whole process.
New York scenario
An agent tells one caller that an apartment is gone. A similar caller receives a showing because of national origin. That unequal information can violate federal law.
Common misconception: A final deal is not needed. A lie about an open home or an unfair showing can break the law.
Check your recall
Refusal, unequal terms, false availability and discriminatory advertising are four examples.
It covers housing lending, mortgage terms, appraisals and brokerage access.
A tester compares the treatment of people with similar profiles but different protected characteristics.
Exam rule
Federal law uses three tests for disability. The first is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, the second is a record of such an impairment, and the third is being regarded as having one. Current illegal use of a controlled substance is excluded. Past addiction or recovery is not, and alcohol use disorder can qualify. A direct-threat decision needs an individualized assessment on reliable, objective evidence rather than fear or stereotypes. It must also weigh whether a reasonable accommodation would address the risk. An accommodation changes a rule, policy, practice or service. A modification physically changes a home or common area. A request needs no special form or legal phrase. Clear disability and need do not call for extra medical details, though reliable facts may confirm a need that is not clear. A provider may discuss effective alternatives. Undue financial or administrative burden can justify denial, and so can a fundamental alteration. An assistance animal supports an accommodation and is not a pet, so no pet fee may be charged merely because one lives there. Under the usual federal rule the requester pays for a physical modification. New York requires providers to pay for reasonable changes to common-use areas. Other laws and existing design duties can also change who pays, and reasonable interior restoration terms may apply. Covered multifamily housing first occupied after March 13, 1991 must meet federal design rules. Those rules cover accessible routes, common areas, doors, controls, bathroom walls, kitchens and bathrooms. They reach every unit in an elevator building with four or more units, and ground-floor units in similar buildings without elevators. The Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, can also cover a public leasing office. The ADA and Fair Housing Act can overlap. They are not interchangeable. Start with the request. Then check cost, proof and the building's design duty.
Why it matters
These questions use four steps. Name the rule, sort the change, find who pays and check the home's design duty.
New York scenario
A tenant asks to keep an assistance animal despite a no-pets rule. That is an accommodation, not a physical modification.
Common misconception: Do not charge a pet fee for an assistance animal. Do not assume the requester always pays for a required design correction.
Check your recall
An accommodation changes a rule or service. A modification physically changes the property.
Covered buildings with four or more units that were designed and constructed for first occupancy after March 13, 1991.
No. Past addiction or recovery may still receive protection when the other requirements are met.
Exam rule
Federal exemptions are narrow, so start with the property and the owner's role. One may cover an owner-occupied building housing no more than four independent families. Another may cover certain owner sales of single-family homes, but only when the owner holds no more than three such houses at one time. An owner who does not live in the house gets one such sale in any twenty-four month period. The same limit reaches an owner who was not its most recent resident. Using a real estate broker, agent or salesperson defeats the exemption. Using an attorney, escrow agent or title company to transfer title does not. Federal discriminatory advertising remains prohibited even then. Religious organizations and private clubs have narrow lodging exceptions. Housing for older persons affects familial status only; it never gives a provider permission to discriminate on another protected ground. One type houses only people age 62 or older. A separate route covers qualifying government programs designed and operated to assist elderly people. The 55-or-older route has an 80 percent test. At least 80 percent of occupied units must house someone age 55 or older, and the housing also needs qualifying policies, intent and sound proof of age. New York's owner-occupied exception is narrower than the federal four-family rule. Some refusal and terms rules exempt only an owner-occupied building with no more than two families. New York still bans discriminatory advertising and inquiries there, and it has narrow room-sharing and same-sex room rules of its own. Current illegal drug use is an exclusion from federal disability protection. That exclusion does not permit discrimination on another protected ground. Recovery may be protected. Alcohol-related disability can be protected. Neutral conduct rules and direct-threat analysis can still apply. To test any claimed exemption, identify the law first, then ask which home, which act and which protected class the facts involve.
Why it matters
An exemption may remove one claim while another law still applies. Always identify the law, property, conduct and protected class.
New York scenario
An owner lives in one unit of a three-family building. A federal exemption may apply, but New York's two-family limit does not.
Common misconception: Do not carry the federal four-family number into a New York question. Do not assume an exemption allows a biased advertisement.
Check your recall
The building may house no more than four independent families, with the owner in one unit.
Its narrow exception covers certain provisions for an owner-occupied building with no more than two families.
At least 80 percent of occupied units must house someone age 55 or older. Qualifying policies and intent, and reliable age verification, are also required.
Chapter 2
Master New York's broader protections, lawful income rules, overlapping jurisdictions and every notice a licensee must deliver or display.
Exam rule
New York protects more classes than federal law. The state list is easiest to learn in small groups. Race, creed, color, national origin and sex form the first. Next come sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military status, age, disability and marital status. Familial status and lawful source of income are also on the list, along with citizenship or immigration status and domestic violence victim status. Separate rules protect certain sealed convictions, youthful offender matters and favorably resolved arrests. Bias tied to a person's association or relationship can break the law as well. The Human Rights Law reaches most home sales, rentals, leases and related broker work, banning refusal, unfair terms, false availability, biased questions and biased ads. It also reaches protected-class bias in residential appraisals. Land and commercial-space rules have their own words. A class or exception may not work the same way for each property type. Retaliation is banned too.
Why it matters
Using the federal list alone misses New York protections. Identify the property type and the exact provision before applying a class or exception.
New York scenario
An owner rejects an applicant because she is single. Marital status is not federally listed, but New York protects it.
Common misconception: New York says creed. Federal law says religion. Also learn the state rules for citizenship, immigration and domestic violence.
Check your recall
Age, marital status, lawful source of income and military status are four examples.
Certain sealed convictions, youthful offender matters and favorably resolved arrests receive protection.
Yes. Residential appraisal conclusions cannot be based on protected-class composition.
Exam rule
New York protects lawful sources of income used to pay for housing. The definition reaches child support, alimony, foster care subsidies, Social Security, public assistance and housing assistance such as Section 8. Other lawful income counts. The rule applies whether the money goes to the tenant or straight to the landlord. A provider may use screening standards that are relevant, lawful and applied consistently to everyone. Use the same ability-to-pay method for comparable applicants. Credit the help that pays part of the rent. Phrases such as no programs or no vouchers announce an unlawful preference. A provider cannot add a special fee or a harder process because an applicant uses assistance. Status is protected too. A provider may ask about citizenship or immigration status when another law specifically requires it, or when a public benefit program verifies eligibility. Those narrow situations do not allow general screening or unequal service.
Why it matters
Bias can hide in a screening rule. Compare the math, proof, fees and wait times used for like applicants.
New York scenario
A voucher pays most of the monthly rent. The landlord applies an income multiple to the full rent anyway. That method ignores the assistance.
Common misconception: Fair housing law does not ban legitimate screening. It bans protected-source bias and inconsistent methods that create unequal access.
Check your recall
Section 8, Social Security, child support and public assistance are four examples.
No. Housing assistance remains protected when it is paid directly to the landlord.
It may be requested when another law requires it or a public program must verify eligibility.
Exam rule
Federal law supplies a nationwide floor. New York State law adds classes and can cover conduct that falls beyond a federal exemption, and local laws may add more protection within their own boundaries. A licensee must comply with every valid law governing the transaction. Broader protection controls when laws overlap without conflict. The property location matters, and each exemption must be tested under the law that created it. New York City's Commission on Human Rights enforces its local housing law. The City adds protections including lawful occupation, height and weight. The City Fair Chance Housing Law took effect January 1, 2025. It limits criminal-history checks for most rentals and sales, including co-ops and condos. No background check is required. If it chooses to do so, it must first assess general eligibility and make a conditional offer. It may then review only limited convictions. Before an adverse decision, it must share the record and give the applicant five business days to respond. It must weigh the facts of that person's case and explain its decision in writing. An arrest or sealed record cannot be treated like a reviewable conviction. A narrow exception covers certain owner-occupied housing with no more than two rooms or units. These city rules do not automatically apply statewide. Check the address first. Age is not a separate class in the federal Fair Housing Act, whose older-persons provisions instead create a limited exception to familial-status protection. New York separately protects age in housing. A federal answer can therefore differ from a New York answer on the same facts.
Why it matters
The place can change the right answer. Name the location and law before choosing a class or exemption.
New York scenario
In Brooklyn, a landlord wants to check an applicant's criminal record. If the City law covers the rental, the landlord must first check basic eligibility and make a conditional offer.
Common misconception: A conviction is not an automatic denial in New York City. Check which homes and records the law covers. Ask when the check may begin and how the applicant can respond.
Check your recall
The New York City Commission on Human Rights enforces the City law, including its local housing protections.
No. State and valid local law must be checked separately.
After assessing general eligibility and making a conditional offer, if it chooses to check. Only limited records may be reviewed, and an adverse decision requires notice and an individualized process.
Exam rule
New York licensees should separate three notice rules. First, section 175.28 requires the DOS Housing and Anti-Discrimination Disclosure at first substantive contact, delivered to prospective buyers, tenants, sellers and landlords. It covers every type of real property, including commercial property, vacant land, condominiums and cooperatives. Paper delivery calls for a signed acknowledgment. Electronic delivery calls for a retained duplicate. If a person refuses to sign, the licensee makes a declaration under oath or affirmation recording when and how the notice was delivered. Keep these records for at least three years. An oral summary alone is not enough. Second, section 175.29 requires the DOS fair housing notice at every office and branch, and required licensee and team websites must display a prominent homepage link. Open houses must display the posted notice, and the disclosure must be available at all open houses and showings. Third, 9 NYCRR 466.15 requires a written disability-rights notice. Providers give it to new tenants within 30 days after the tenancy takes effect. The rule also imposed a one-time delivery deadline for then-current tenants, and brokers must ensure associated licensees provide it to prospective tenants at first substantive contact. The notice must give the phone number and email address of the person who receives accommodation requests. The rule calls for 12-point or larger text, or another easily legible font. Approved written or electronic delivery can work. Oral notice alone cannot. Required websites must also link to the notice. New York requires providers to pay for reasonable modifications to common-use areas.
Why it matters
The three rules have different audiences, places and records. Sorting them prevents a correct form from being used for the wrong duty.
New York scenario
A buyer refuses to sign at a first showing. The licensee records delivery under oath and keeps the declaration for three years.
Common misconception: A poster or spoken recap cannot replace a form. The deal disclosure, posted notice and disability notice are three duties.
Check your recall
It is delivered at first substantive contact with a prospective buyer, tenant, seller or landlord.
The licensee declares the delivery facts under oath or affirmation and keeps that record.
Display it at offices, branches and open houses. Required licensee and team websites need a prominent homepage link; the disclosure must also be available at open houses and showings.
Chapter 3
Recognize named violations, build a fair brokerage process, follow solicitation rules and understand complaints, remedies and license consequences.
Exam rule
The named practices sound alike, so focus on what the actor does. Steering guides a housing choice because of a protected characteristic, and it includes holding back suitable listings or changing showings by group. Blockbusting seeks sales by warning that protected people will change an area. Redlining denies or worsens credit, insurance or housing services because of an area's protected-class composition. Location can still matter in a lawful, supported property-risk assessment. Biased ads can use words, images, preferred audiences or delivery methods. Forms and digital targeting count. Filtering down means older housing moving into lower price ranges. That market idea is not itself a violation. Testers can find steering, false availability and unequal service by comparing matched experiences. Owners, neighbors and customers may press a licensee to discriminate. The licensee must refuse. Pointed questions about who lives nearby call for neutral, factual responses, and a licensee may name public data sources and let the customer decide for themselves. Each customer should get equal information, amenities, property access and brokerage resources.
Why it matters
Named-practice questions use similar facts. Find the core act: guided choice, fear selling, area-based service or biased marketing.
New York scenario
A buyer asks for a neighborhood without families from one country. The agent refuses to filter by nationality and uses stated property needs.
Common misconception: Do not describe the protected makeup of an area. Use neutral criteria and public sources instead.
Check your recall
Steering guides a customer's choice. Blockbusting uses fear of neighborhood change to create business.
Redlining discriminatorily denies or worsens housing credit, insurance or related services because of an area's protected-class composition.
Give neutral information, identify reliable public sources and let the customer decide.
Exam rule
Implicit bias can affect a choice without the person seeing it, and stereotypes can shape questions, property matches, showings, follow-up and screening. One standard process helps find and reduce those gaps. Brokers need a written fair housing policy and the required signs, and they should review ads, forms, social media and marketing audiences against it. Brokers must train and supervise licensees, report violations and fix problems, and training should continue long after onboarding. Records matter as much as intent. A broker should keep policies, training materials and attendance records, along with ads, inquiries, matches, showings, applications and complaint responses, then test results for unequal patterns. Salespersons must know the laws and the required disclosures, use neutral steps, and reject biased instructions. Record the facts and report problems at once. Social media and ads must comply too, and seminars and new training help staff spot risk. Neutral criteria must be relevant, written and applied in the same way. New York law can examine discriminatory effects as well as direct intent, so a supported business need and less discriminatory alternatives can matter. Good intent alone does not prove fair treatment.
Why it matters
Records show what the firm did. They reveal whether like customers got the same replies, choices, showings, checks and follow-up.
New York scenario
A review finds that similar voucher holders received fewer replies. The broker finds the process break, corrects it and checks later results.
Common misconception: A poster is not a complete program. Daily supervision, consistent service, compliant advertising and usable records still matter.
Check your recall
Compare inquiries, property matches, showings, follow-up, screening and final decisions.
Refuse it, keep the facts and report the issue to the supervising broker promptly.
They show whether the written policy became equal treatment in actual transactions.
Exam rule
New York may create cease-and-desist zones where intense real estate solicitation harms homeowners, and owners within a zone can register their names and addresses on the DOS list. The prohibition follows the listed owner and property. It does not cover every address inside the boundary. Licensees may not directly solicit a listed owner to sell, lease or list the property, and phone calls, mail, email, texts, deliveries and personal contact can all count. Just-listed, just-sold and every-door mail can also count. Broad public advertising is different from targeted contact. Check the current DOS list immediately before each direct campaign, then keep the screened list and the campaign records. Owner-initiated contact does not authorize later unwanted solicitation beyond that request. The Kings County zone covers part of Community Board 17, and DOS updates that list monthly, so its posted date moves. A separate rule covers an individual's written nonsolicitation request under 19 NYCRR 175.17(a)(2), which can apply outside a cease-and-desist zone. Record it, stop direct solicitation and notify the supervising broker.
Why it matters
Boundaries and registrations change. A fresh list check protects the owner's choice and creates evidence of the brokerage's screening.
New York scenario
A mailing vendor checked last month's file. The licensee checks the final addresses again before release and removes newly registered owners.
Common misconception: Not each home in a zone is on the list. A written no-contact request is a separate rule.
Check your recall
The owners and properties appearing on the current DOS registration list receive the zone protection.
Calls, mail, email, texts, deliveries, personal contact and targeted every-door mail can count.
It is a separate written request and can apply even outside a designated zone.
Exam rule
A person generally has one year to file an administrative complaint with HUD. A private federal lawsuit generally has two years, subject to statutory tolling. New York DHR complaints now have a three-year filing period for acts occurring on or after February 15, 2024. Older acts follow the earlier deadline. DHR must serve a housing complaint within 30 days. Section 297(2)(b) specifies a jurisdiction and probable-cause determination within 100 days after filing, and Section 297(9) gives any party twenty days following the probable-cause determination to elect a civil action. The matter otherwise goes through the agency hearing process. DHR can order a respondent to stop and to take corrective action. It can award compensatory damages, including proven emotional harm. Housing awards can include punitive damages up to $10,000. A state civil penalty can reach $50,000. It can reach $100,000 for willful, wanton or malicious conduct. Penalties go to the state. Damages compensate the harmed person. DHR sends licensed-respondent information to the Secretary of State, and DOS may separately suspend or revoke a license or impose another discipline under Article 12-A. An agent receiving a complaint should stay calm, avoid retaliation, and preserve advertisements, messages, notes, forms and transaction records. Notify the supervising broker and cooperate through lawful procedures.
Why it matters
The exam mixes federal and state time limits. It also separates awards, state fines, court orders and license action.
New York scenario
A DHR case produces damages and a state civil penalty. DOS can still open a separate case concerning the respondent's license.
Common misconception: The $50,000 and $100,000 amounts are civil penalty ceilings. The $10,000 amount is the housing punitive-damages ceiling.
Check your recall
HUD is generally one year, a private federal action is generally two years, and current DHR claims have three years.
For housing cases, section 297 specifies service within 30 days after receipt, a jurisdiction and probable-cause determination within 100 days after filing, and twenty days following probable cause to elect a civil action.
$50,000 ordinarily and $100,000 for willful, wanton or malicious conduct.
Your mastery checklist
Mark a lesson only after you can explain its rule without looking. This checklist never changes your license or state-exam record. We try to save it in this browser.
0/12
lessons complete
Ready to apply a rule?
Try a question, then read the explanation behind your choice.
Free web sample
Answer one selected question at a time. These web samples are not the complete subject bank. The mobile app contains all 147 questions for Human Rights and Fair Housing.
Question 1 of 5
advancedChoose the best answer before opening any lesson notes. Your first response is the best measure of recall.
Want a longer set or a specific concept? Open Human Rights and Fair Housing topic practice, or recall the rules without answer choices.
Worked examples
Choose an answer to see how the rule applies, or reveal the explanation to study the example.
1. Identify
Name the legal, financial or factual issue the question is testing.
2. Apply
Use the controlling rule. Ignore facts that do not change that rule.
3. Conclude
Choose the answer that follows the rule without adding assumptions.
Choose an answer to see how the rule applies, or reveal the explanation to study the example.
1. Identify
Name the legal, financial or factual issue the question is testing.
2. Apply
Use the controlling rule. Ignore facts that do not change that rule.
3. Conclude
Choose the answer that follows the rule without adding assumptions.
Scenario lab
Scenario 1
A question lists age with the seven federal classes. Age is protected by New York law, but not among the federal seven.
Housing discrimination did not begin in 1968. Segregation and unequal access had already shaped neighborhoods, ownership and family wealth. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 protected equal property rights against racial discrimination, a century before the Fair Housing Act arrived. Three cases mark the turns. Plessy v. Ferguson accepted separate but equal treatment in 1896, Buchanan v. Warley rejected government racial zoning in 1917, and Brown v. Board of Education rejected school segregation in 1954. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 reached public accommodations and jobs. It was not the Fair Housing Act. Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 became that Act, and Jones v. Mayer confirmed that the 1866 law reaches private racial discrimination as well. The 1968 Act first covered race, color, religion and national origin, the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 added sex, and the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 added familial status and handicap. Federal materials now use disability for the statutory word handicap. The seven federal classes are race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status and disability. Familial status includes pregnancy and households with a child under 18 in legal custody.
Scenario 2
In Brooklyn, a landlord wants to check an applicant's criminal record. If the City law covers the rental, the landlord must first check basic eligibility and make a conditional offer.
Federal law supplies a nationwide floor. New York State law adds classes and can cover conduct that falls beyond a federal exemption, and local laws may add more protection within their own boundaries. A licensee must comply with every valid law governing the transaction. Broader protection controls when laws overlap without conflict. The property location matters, and each exemption must be tested under the law that created it. New York City's Commission on Human Rights enforces its local housing law. The City adds protections including lawful occupation, height and weight. The City Fair Chance Housing Law took effect January 1, 2025. It limits criminal-history checks for most rentals and sales, including co-ops and condos. No background check is required. If it chooses to do so, it must first assess general eligibility and make a conditional offer. It may then review only limited convictions. Before an adverse decision, it must share the record and give the applicant five business days to respond. It must weigh the facts of that person's case and explain its decision in writing. An arrest or sealed record cannot be treated like a reviewable conviction. A narrow exception covers certain owner-occupied housing with no more than two rooms or units. These city rules do not automatically apply statewide. Check the address first. Age is not a separate class in the federal Fair Housing Act, whose older-persons provisions instead create a limited exception to familial-status protection. New York separately protects age in housing. A federal answer can therefore differ from a New York answer on the same facts.
Scenario 3
A DHR case produces damages and a state civil penalty. DOS can still open a separate case concerning the respondent's license.
A person generally has one year to file an administrative complaint with HUD. A private federal lawsuit generally has two years, subject to statutory tolling. New York DHR complaints now have a three-year filing period for acts occurring on or after February 15, 2024. Older acts follow the earlier deadline. DHR must serve a housing complaint within 30 days. Section 297(2)(b) specifies a jurisdiction and probable-cause determination within 100 days after filing, and Section 297(9) gives any party twenty days following the probable-cause determination to elect a civil action. The matter otherwise goes through the agency hearing process. DHR can order a respondent to stop and to take corrective action. It can award compensatory damages, including proven emotional harm. Housing awards can include punitive damages up to $10,000. A state civil penalty can reach $50,000. It can reach $100,000 for willful, wanton or malicious conduct. Penalties go to the state. Damages compensate the harmed person. DHR sends licensed-respondent information to the Secretary of State, and DOS may separately suspend or revoke a license or impose another discipline under Article 12-A. An agent receiving a complaint should stay calm, avoid retaliation, and preserve advertisements, messages, notes, forms and transaction records. Notify the supervising broker and cooperate through lawful procedures.
Keep practicing
Use the web guide to understand the rules. Use the mobile question bank to build speed, diagnose weak areas and repeat the material until it sticks.
Keep these within reach
Open the section you need. The full outline and supporting material are here whenever you want to check a detail.
Start here
Federal Fair Housing Act history and protected classes
New York State Human Rights Law protections and current protected characteristics
New York City and other local protections that may add requirements
Steering, blockbusting, redlining, discriminatory advertising, and unequal terms
Reasonable accommodations, reasonable modifications, assistance animals, and accessibility
Cease-and-desist lists, nonsolicitation orders, enforcement, and broker supervision
Implicit bias, standardized procedures, and the Housing and Anti-Discrimination Disclosure Form
Do not stop at the seven federal classes when the question asks about New York law.
New York protections include characteristics such as age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military status, lawful source of income, citizenship or immigration status, and domestic violence victim status, among others.
Exemptions are narrow and can differ between federal, state, and local law.
Federal, state, and local anti-discrimination duties, protected characteristics, prohibited conduct, exemptions, advertising, and bias awareness. This guide covers 12 lessons with New York scenarios, common mistakes, documents, worked examples, selected web practice and direct links to the sources used.
Subject vocabulary
Open any term for a direct definition, the exam cue, a New York example, the common mix-up and links to the source material.
Exam traps
How federal fair housing protections developed
Do not treat the 1964 Act as the Fair Housing Act. Also count race and color as separate federal classes.
Federal exemptions and New York limits
Do not carry the federal four-family number into a New York question. Do not assume an exemption allows a biased advertisement.
Federal, state and local law
A conviction is not an automatic denial in New York City. Check which homes and records the law covers. Ask when the check may begin and how the applicant can respond.
Steering, blockbusting, redlining and advertising
Do not describe the protected makeup of an area. Use neutral criteria and public sources instead.
Complaints, remedies and license consequences
The $50,000 and $100,000 amounts are civil penalty ceilings. The $10,000 amount is the housing punitive-damages ceiling.
Forms and records
The exam often gives you a document and asks who uses it, what it proves or when it belongs in the transaction.
Explains New York fair housing protections and complaint channels to prospective parties.
Exam cue: Providing a notice does not cure discriminatory service.
Displays the brokerage's fair housing commitments and public complaint information.
Exam cue: Posting is one part of compliance. Policies, supervision and consistent treatment still matter.
Documents a request to change a rule, policy, practice or service because of disability.
Exam cue: No special wording or single mandatory form is required to make a request.
Creates a consistent record of criteria, properties offered and follow-up.
Exam cue: Objective records help reveal and prevent unequal treatment.
Primary sources
These are the government, statutory and other authoritative materials cited in the lessons and questions above.
19 NYCRR 175.28: Notification of fair housing laws
Cornell Legal Information Institute
New York City Fair Chance Housing Law Guidance
New York City Commission on Human Rights
New York City Human Rights Law Protections
New York City Commission on Human Rights
Cease and Desist Zones
New York Department of State
Guidance to Real Estate License Holders: New Fair Housing Regulations
New York Department of State
New York State Housing and Anti-Discrimination Disclosure Form
New York Department of State
Real Estate License Law: March 2026
New York Department of State
Real Estate Salesperson 77-Hour Curriculum
New York Department of State
9 NYCRR 466.14: Discrimination based on relationship or association
New York State Division of Human Rights
9 NYCRR 466.15: Notice of tenants’ reasonable accommodation rights
New York State Division of Human Rights
Fair Housing Protections Under New York Human Rights Law
New York State Division of Human Rights
New York Executive Law §292: Human Rights Law Definitions
New York State Legislature
New York Executive Law §296: Unlawful Discriminatory Practices
New York State Legislature
New York Executive Law §297: Human Rights Law Procedure
New York State Legislature
Joint Statement on Reasonable Modifications Under the Fair Housing Act
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Department of Justice
ADA Title III Technical Assistance Manual
U.S. Department of Justice
The Fair Housing Act: An Issue of Public Importance
U.S. Department of Justice
Joint Statement on Reasonable Accommodations Under the Fair Housing Act
U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
United States Code, Title 42, Chapter 45: Fair Housing
U.S. Government Publishing Office
Separate required course
6 of 77 course hours
New York assigns this time within its required pre-licensing course. It is not the time needed to use this exam-prep guide or mobile app.
12
lessons
147
mobile questions
5
free web samples
19
sources
Editorial record
Built from the mobile app's reviewed New York lesson and question bank, then checked against the official curriculum and cited sources.
Scope note
This guide supports exam study and issue recognition. It does not replace an approved 77-hour course or advice from an attorney, tax professional, lender, engineer, inspector or other qualified specialist.
