National Origin, Religion, & Immigration Status

The Fair Housing Act includes religion and national origin in its protected classes. Discrimination based on immigration status is often directly related to national origin or religion.

Housing providers can ask for identification and conduct credit checks to ensure ability to pay rent. Some housing providers might ask if you are in the country legally, ask to see your green card or visa, or ask for your social security number to see if you can fulfill the lease’s terms. 

Housing providers, however, cannot use this information to deny an applicant, or charge different prices solely on the basis of your national origin, religion, and immigration status.

If you think that you are being asked about your immigration status for discriminatory purposes, please call us toll-free at 1-877-979-FAIR.

Protections Under the Fair Housing Act

Because of protections under the Fair Housing Act, housing providers cannot:

• Ask you to identify your religion
• Ask you questions about your immigration status because of how you look, talk, or dress
• Ask you to remove your head scarf, hijab, burka, keffiyeh, kippah, other religious clothing, or other religious symbols
• Refuse to rent to you because you are an immigrant, refugee, or because of your religious faith
• Refuse to rent to you because you are not from the United States
• Charge you more rent or a higher security deposit because of where you are from, your immigration status, or your religious faith
• Require you to get a cosigner because you are an immigrant or refugee, or because of your religion
• Tell you not to cook certain foods because of the smell
• Refuse to rent to you because you or some of your family members do not speak English
• Tell you that you must speak English when outside of your apartment
• Force you to choose an apartment near other people who are from the same country, speak the same language as you, or are of the same religion
• Enforce rules against you or your family because you are an immigrant or refugee or because of your religion, but not enforce those rules against anyone else
• Evict you because of your religion, immigration status, or refugee status or threaten or harass you because of your religion, immigration status, or refugee status

Examples of harassment or threats include:

• Threatening to report you to the police or immigration authorities because of your immigration status
• Saying you will be deported
• Telling you to go back to your own country
• Painting graffiti or writing/yelling ethnic slurs, including the use of slurs or threats to harm you or your family if you do not move out
• Blocking access to your home, your belongings, or property amenities (like a swimming pool or laundry area)

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The FHC Can Help With Housing Discrimination.

If you believe you have been the victim of housing discrimination, please call us toll-free at 1-877-979-FAIR to discuss the situation.

Information provided about allegations or complaints of housing discrimination will be kept confidential. We will not report undocumented immigrants to the authorities.

Retaliation is illegal. Any attempt should be immediately reported to the FHC.

If you do come into contact with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after you have filed a complaint with the FHC or the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), you should notify ICE that you are pursuing a fair housing complaint. It is illegal to coerce, intimidate, threaten, or interfere with a person’s exercise or enjoyment of rights granted or protected by the Fair Housing Act. 

This includes threats to report a person to ICE if they report housing discrimination to HUD or the FHC. HUD and the FHC do not inquire about immigration status when investigating claims of housing discrimination.

Other Resources

Immigration Status and Housing Discrimination Frequently Asked Questions – U.S. Housing and Urban Development, 2012

Fair Housing Rights for Renters, in Arabic, Chinese, English, and Spanish Languages