Fair Housing Protected Classes by State and City: A Reference for Apartment and Multifamily Advertising

The federal floor: seven classes and one advertising clause

The Fair Housing Act's advertising ban, 42 U.S.C. 3604(c), makes it unlawful to publish "any notice, statement, or advertisement" about renting a dwelling that indicates a preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin. Those seven classes apply to every apartment ad in the country.

The federal law has one built-in carve-out that matters for advertising: under 42 U.S.C. 3607(b), familial status rules do not apply to housing for older persons, meaning housing occupied solely by people 62 or older, or housing where at least 80 percent of occupied units have at least one person 55 or older and the operator publishes policies showing that intent. Everything else about who an ad may prefer comes from state and local law.

One federal change: a Federal Register notice published April 6, 2026 lists eight HUD fair housing guidance documents withdrawn effective September 17, 2025. They include the February 11, 2021 memo implementing Executive Order 13988 on gender identity and sexual orientation, and the April 2024 digital advertising guidance (see our fair housing advertising guide). The statute did not change, and the state and city laws below are unaffected.

How to read these tables, and what they do not cover yet

Each state row lists only the classes a statute adds beyond the federal seven. "Named in the ad clause" means we read the statute's advertising subsection and the class is in its text. An ad clause makes the published words the violation, with no rejected applicant needed. Where we only read an agency summary, the row says so.

This first edition covers 16 states chosen for their multifamily stock and four cities, each checked on October 22, 2026 against the statute or the enforcing agency's own page (for Minneapolis, a published quotation of the ordinance). Until a state has a row, treat it as unverified, not federal-only. Source of income is one linked column; voucher rules live on the SOI page.

Fair housing protected classes by state: the table

Two details for copy review. Five ad clauses (Illinois, New York, Washington, Minnesota, North Carolina) also reach application forms and "record or inquiry" questions. Virginia treats words or symbols tied to a religion, national origin, sex or race as prima facie evidence of illegal preference, and a disclaimer does not cure it.

City and local protected classes: New York City, DC, Seattle, Minneapolis

Cities are where the unusual classes live, and they apply on top of the state list. This edition covers four cities whose enforcing agency pages or ordinance text we read. Other large markets, including Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver and Los Angeles, are not in this edition yet; treat them as unverified, not as state-only.

Why 20 in DC: credit information, genetic information and victim status for domestic violence, sexual offense or stalking are on OHR's list of 23 but not its housing list, which uses status as a victim of an intrafamily offense instead.

10 protected classes beyond the federal seven, and the ad copy each one catches

Each item names a class, where it applies in the tables above, and the phrases that put a listing at risk there.

1. 01

   Age: "young professionals", "perfect for retirees", "mature residents"

   Protected in 7 of our 16 states (Illinois and Pennsylvania from 40, Virginia as "elderliness"), in NYC, in DC from 18 and in Seattle at any age. Outside a qualifying 55+ or 62+ community under 42 U.S.C. 3607(b), describe amenities, not residents. For 55+ wording, see our 55+ advertising guide.

2. 02

   Marital status: "ideal for couples", "singles welcome", "married preferred"

   Named in nine state ad clauses and protected in California, New Jersey, NYC, DC and Seattle. Describe the unit ("one-bedroom with a walk-in closet"), not who it suits.

3. 03

   Citizenship and immigration status: "U.S. citizens only", "green card required"

   Protected in New York, Washington, Illinois, NYC and Seattle, and listed by California's CRD. Seattle's civil rights office uses "preference for U.S. citizens" as its own example of a discriminatory housing ad. State accepted ID documents neutrally, reviewed by counsel.

4. 04

   Military and veteran status: "no military", "no deployments"

   Protected in 10 of our 16 states and in NYC and Seattle. Colorado's ad clause exempts ads that promote veteran or military housing benefits, so a military discount line is a different question from a military exclusion.

5. 05

   Students and matriculation: "no students", "not student housing"

   DC protects matriculation, meaning enrolment in a college, university, or vocational, professional or adult education program, and applies it to housing. Elsewhere students are not a listed class, but "no students" can read as an age proxy where age is protected. Describe lease terms ("12-month leases only") instead. More examples are in our words-to-avoid list.

6. 06

   Occupation: "professionals only", "no service-industry workers"

   New York City lists lawful occupation as a housing class, so job-based targeting in NYC copy is a direct problem, not just a tone issue. Put income criteria in published screening criteria, not in the ad.

7. 07

   Criminal and eviction history: "no felons", "clean record required", "no prior evictions"

   NYC protects criminal record; Illinois names arrest record in its ad clause; Connecticut has banned ads based on erased criminal history since January 1, 2023 (46a-80c); New Jersey's Fair Chance in Housing Act limits criminal history decisions; DC protects sealed eviction records; Seattle's civil rights office enforces a Fair Chance Housing and Eviction Records law. Keep screening rules in the criteria document, checked by counsel per jurisdiction.

8. 08

   Sexual orientation and gender identity: "traditional families only", "perfect for a husband and wife"

   Named together in seven state ad clauses plus Massachusetts 4(7B); Illinois and Washington name sexual orientation, and Illinois defines it to include gender-related identity. These protections do not depend on the withdrawn 2021 HUD memo. "Husband and wife" also signals marital status, so it fails twice.

9. 09

   Public assistance and source of income: "no Section 8", "no TRA", "employment income only"

   New Jersey's civil rights division says a listing cannot say "Section 8 not accepted" or "No TRA." Virginia protects "source of funds", Minnesota "status with regard to public assistance" and Massachusetts "public assistance recipiency." State-by-state voucher rules, income tests and preemption are in the source of income table.

10. 10

    Pregnancy, appearance and politics: "not suitable for expecting parents", "well-groomed", "like-minded neighbors"

    NYC protects pregnancy and height and weight; Illinois pregnancy and reproductive health decisions; New Jersey pregnancy and breastfeeding; DC personal appearance, political affiliation and place of residence; Seattle political ideology and caste. Keyword lists built on the federal seven miss all of them.

Worked example: one template, three addresses

Fair housing problems in multifamily copy are usually copied, not invented. In Brynson's analysis of 6,000 properties and 1.6 million units, about 89% of communities described themselves differently across listing sites, a sign that copy is edited and re-syndicated in pieces. A phrase written for one market lands in another.

The Texas column ignores city ordinances, which still need their own check. The portable test: if a phrase names who should live there, it needs a jurisdiction check.

How to build a protected-class map for your portfolio

A seven-step pass a compliance lead can run with marketing before the next template change.

1. 1

   List every property address

   Export each property's street address, city, county and state from the PMS, including third-party-owned assets.

2. 2

   Resolve the class stack per address

   For each property, record the federal seven, the state additions from the table above and any city or county additions, with the date you checked each source.

3. 3

   Pick a portfolio drafting standard

   Write shared templates to the strictest stack you operate in, usually NYC or DC, so a pasted phrase is safe wherever it lands.

4. 4

   Pull every live surface

   Collect current copy from ILS listings, property websites, paid and organic social, search ads and screening criteria.

5. 5

   Search for renter-describing language

   Flag every phrase that describes who should live there rather than the unit, and check it against that property's stack.

6. 6

   Rewrite, publish and log

   Replace flagged phrases with unit and building facts, confirm the change on each channel, and record what changed, where and when.

7. 7

   Re-check on a cadence

   Re-verify each jurisdiction row on a fixed schedule and whenever a property is added, since local ordinances change between legislative sessions.

How we keep this table current

Illinois shows why rows go stale. Its code site already carries two future-dated versions of the definitions section: one from P.A. 104-793, effective January 1, 2027, and one from P.A. 104-744, effective June 1, 2027, which adds "whether by purpose or effect" to the definition of unlawful discrimination. Neither changes the list of classes. This page carries a dated changelog, every row links the text we read, and a named reviewer re-checks each row on a fixed cadence and whenever a legislature adjourns.

Frequently asked questions