What does fair housing prohibit?

Fair housing laws, particularly in the United States, focus on ensuring that all individuals have equal access to housing opportunities without discrimination based on specific protected characteristics. These protected characteristics typically include race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability.

The prohibition against discrimination in housing encompasses various aspects, including the sale and rental of housing, terms and conditions of housing agreements, and advertising practices. This means that individuals cannot be treated differently, denied housing, or subjected to different terms based on their belonging to any of those protected categories.

In contrast, the other options reflect narrower interpretations of fair housing regulations. Only rental discrimination would ignore the broader scope that includes both sales and rentals. Price discrimination based on location or the assessment of property values pertains to economic factors that, while potentially influenced by discriminatory practices, are not direct violations of fair housing laws. Therefore, the overarching principle of fair housing is the prohibition of discrimination in housing, capturing the full extent of what these laws aim to achieve.