Fair Housing Month Highlights Why Equal Treatment Still Matters for Home Buyers

Buyers Brokers Only says fair housing remains essential to protecting consumers’ access to accurate information, lawful terms, and a fair chance to buy a home

GREATER BOSTON, MA, UNITED STATES, April 1, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Buyers Brokers Only, a consumer-focused, exclusive buyer agent real estate firm serving Greater Boston, is commemorating Fair Housing Month by highlighting the continuing importance of the Fair Housing Act and the role it plays in protecting home-buying consumers.

For home buyers, fair housing is not just a civil rights principle. It is also a consumer protection issue that can affect nearly every stage of a real estate transaction, from the initial home search to mortgage preapproval, appraisal, homeowners insurance, and the final purchase terms.

Enacted on April 11, 1968, the Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, financing, and other housing-related activities based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability. The law was later expanded, including a 1974 amendment adding sex as a protected class and 1988 amendments that strengthened enforcement and added protections for people with disabilities and families with children.

“Fair housing helps protect consumers’ access to equal treatment, accurate information, and lawful terms in housing transactions,” said Rich Rosa, co-founder of Buyers Brokers Only. “For home buyers, that protection matters long before closing day. It matters when they ask for listings, seek financing, question an appraisal, request an accommodation, or simply expect to be treated fairly throughout the process.”

Rosa added that Fair Housing Month is an opportunity to recognize the progress made since 1968 and to acknowledge that the work is not finished.

Over time, the Fair Housing Act has expanded beyond prohibiting overt discrimination in home sales or rentals. The law now reaches mortgage lending, appraisals, insurance, accessibility, advertising, and other housing-related services. It also prohibits subtler forms of discrimination, including steering, false information about housing availability, and other practices that can limit where and how people buy homes.

That broad scope is one reason the law remains highly relevant to ordinary home-buying transactions. Fair housing protections support the right of consumers to receive truthful information, equal professional treatment, equal access to credit, and a non-discriminatory appraisal and insurance process.

Rosa highlighted recent fair housing complaint data showing that significant barriers remain. According to the National Fair Housing Alliance’s 2025 Fair Housing Trends Report, 32,321 fair housing complaints were received in 2024 by private nonprofit fair housing organizations, HUD, FHAP agencies, and the U.S. Department of Justice. Disability-related discrimination remained the largest category, accounting for 17,645 complaints, or 55 percent of the total. The report also said national-origin complaints rose 8 percent year over year, retaliation complaints more than doubled, and appraisal discrimination complaints reported by private nonprofit fair housing organizations rose from 24 to 39, a 63 percent increase.

Rosa notes that those figures show why Fair Housing Month should not be treated as a mere symbolic observance.

“Fair housing is unfinished work,” Rosa, a past president of the nonprofit National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents, said. “The law has opened doors for millions of Americans, but ongoing complaints involving disability, national origin, retaliation, and appraisal bias show that equal access to housing still cannot be taken for granted.”

David Kres, co-founder of and principal broker at Buyers Brokers Only, noted that disability rights remain central to fair housing enforcement. The law can require reasonable accommodations in housing rules, policies, practices, and services, as well as reasonable modifications in some circumstances. It also includes accessibility requirements for certain multifamily housing. Familial-status protections continue to matter, helping ensure that families with children are not unlawfully excluded or treated differently in the housing market.

As Fair Housing Month is observed nationwide in April, Buyers Brokers Only said the Fair Housing Act remains an essential part of a fair and lawful housing market and an important protection for consumers trying to buy a home.

ABOUT BUYERS BROKERS ONLY

Buyers Brokers Only, LLC is a consumer-focused, exclusive buyer agent real estate firm serving Greater Boston. Since 2005, Buyers Brokers Only has helped more than 2,000 home-buying clients purchase over $1 billion in real estate. The firm’s buyer brokers never represent sellers. They are consumer advocates for homebuyers, providing 100 percent loyalty 100 percent of the time.

ABOUT THE FAIR HOUSING ACT

Enacted in 1968, the Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability. The Act was amended in 1988 to include protections for people with disabilities and families with children and to strengthen enforcement mechanisms. Some states have additional protected classes. For example, almost half the states prohibit discrimination in housing based on a person’s veteran status. Fair Housing Month shines a spotlight on overcoming discrimination, promoting inclusive communities, addressing appraisal bias, and fostering fair lending practices.

Richard Rosa
Buyers Brokers Only, LLC
+1 978-835-5906
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