Does your listing description pass fair housing?

How this works

What the law covers. The federal Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to publish any ad or statement about the sale or rental of housing that indicates a preference, limitation or discrimination based on seven protected classes: race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status (having children under 18) and national origin. Many states and cities add others, such as sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, age, source of income and military status, so check your state and local law too.

What HUD says about ad language. HUD’s 1995 guidance draws the line between describing the property and describing the people who should live there. “Master bedroom,” “family room,” “walk-in closets,” “quiet streets” and “walk to bus stop” describe the home and aren’t violations. “No children,” “adults only,” “Christian home” and “no wheelchairs” state a preference and are. HUD’s older 1989 guidelines, withdrawn in 1996 but still widely cited, also warn about catch words like “exclusive” and “restricted” and references to houses of worship.

How the checker works. It matches whole words and phrases from a maintained list, ignoring capitals, and marks each one as avoid, caution or depends on context, with the reason, the source and a suggested alternative. There’s no AI: the same text always gets the same result. It’s a first pass, not a compliance guarantee. It can’t judge context, it won’t catch every problem, and photos, placement and audience matter too. When in doubt, ask your broker.