Discriminatory Housing Statements and Section 3604(c): A New Look at the Fair Housing Act's Most Intriguing Provision
Schwemm, Robert G.
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- 2025Burley v. Chapman N.D.N.Y.
- 2015Rodriguez v. Village Green Realty, Inc. 2d Cir.
- 2009McDermott v. New York Metro LLC S.D.N.Y.
- 2005United States v. Space Hunters, Inc. 2d Cir.
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Abstract
This article gives a new look at section 3604(c) of the Fair Housing Act. Through section 3604(c), the FHA has outlawed biased statements with respect to an even broader range of housing sales and rentals. The three main purposes of section 3604 directly bear on the FHA's ultimate goals of eliminating housing discrimination and achieving residential integration. Under the FHA, discriminatory statements are not only probative of a defendant's illegal intent, but also, by themselves, violate the statute if made "with respect to eh sale or rental of a dwelling." Further, the lack of aggressive enforcement of section 3604(c) cannot be attributed to legitimate First Amendment concerns.
In some situations, section 3604(c) may be aggressively interpreted and enforced without raising constitutional concerns. The article proposes that an "old-fashioned approach" to discriminatory housing statements under section 3604(c) is the only way to achieve the FHA's ultimate goals of nondiscrimination and truly integrate living patterns.