Protected Classes Under California Fair Housing Law

Protected classes under California fair housing law cover at least 18 characteristics, making the state’s protections among the broadest in the country. The federal Fair Housing Act sets a floor of seven, and California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act and Unruh Civil Rights Act layer on roughly a dozen more. A landlord, seller, real estate agent, or lender cannot use any of these characteristics against you when you try to rent, buy, or finance a home.1California Civil Rights Department. Housing Rights Booklet

The 18 Protected Characteristics

The California Civil Rights Department identifies the following protected characteristics in housing:1California Civil Rights Department. Housing Rights Booklet

  • Race
  • Color
  • Religion
  • Sex and gender
  • Sexual orientation
  • Gender identity and gender expression
  • National origin
  • Ancestry
  • Familial status (families with children under 18, pregnant individuals, and people in the process of securing custody)
  • Disability, physical or mental
  • Marital status
  • Source of income
  • Genetic information
  • Veteran or military status
  • Age
  • Citizenship
  • Immigration status
  • Primary language

Some of these come from federal law, some from FEHA, and a few from the Unruh Civil Rights Act. For practical purposes it doesn’t matter which statute creates the protection. Discrimination on any of these grounds triggers liability under California law.

What California Protects That Federal Law Does Not

The federal Fair Housing Act protects seven categories: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability.2Department of Justice. The Fair Housing Act Federal sex-based protection reaches sexual harassment in a housing context, and federal law also covers people associated with a protected class, so a landlord cannot reject you because your roommate or partner has a disability.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3604

California goes further. The Fair Employment and Housing Act, codified at Government Code Section 12955, adds gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, ancestry, source of income, veteran or military status, and genetic information. None of these appear in the federal Fair Housing Act.4California Legislative Information. California Government Code 12955

Section 12955(d) incorporates the Unruh Civil Rights Act, which applies to all business establishments including housing providers. The Unruh Act brings in citizenship, primary language, and immigration status.5California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 51 Immigration status was written directly into FEHA’s housing provisions in 2018, so a landlord cannot ask about your immigration status or refuse to rent to you based on it.

Age protection in housing works differently than in employment. The housing rule is not limited to people over 40; it covers both younger and older residents.1California Civil Rights Department. Housing Rights Booklet

Source of Income and Section 8

Source of income is the protection landlords get wrong most often. Under FEHA, a landlord cannot refuse to rent to someone because they pay with a Housing Choice (Section 8) voucher, public assistance, disability payments, or any other lawful, verifiable income.4California Legislative Information. California Government Code 12955

That protection extends to advertising. Listings cannot say “No Section 8” or “We do not participate in Section 8.” A voucher holder who meets the other lawful screening criteria cannot be rejected because part of their rent comes from a government subsidy.

Since January 1, 2024, an additional rule applies to credit screenings. If a Section 8 applicant offers alternative proof of ability to pay rent, such as bank statements, pay records, or benefit records, the landlord has to consider that evidence instead of a traditional credit check. The landlord must give the applicant reasonable time to produce the records and genuinely weigh them.

Disability: Accommodations and Modifications

Disability under federal law includes physical or mental impairments that substantially limit major life activities, a history of such impairments, or being perceived as having one. California’s protection reaches the same ground and is enforced through FEHA.

Housing providers must make reasonable accommodations in rules and policies when a tenant needs them because of a disability. The clearest example is pets. A no-pets policy cannot be enforced against a tenant who needs an emotional support animal or a service animal. If the disability and the need are not obvious, the landlord can ask for a letter from a licensed healthcare professional confirming the disability and the therapeutic benefit of the animal. Landlords cannot demand a specific diagnosis, require an official ESA registration certificate (no government agency issues one), or insist the animal be trained.6eCFR. 24 CFR Part 100 – Discriminatory Conduct Under the Fair Housing Act

Tenants with disabilities also have the right to make reasonable physical modifications to a unit at their own expense, such as grab bars or wider doorways. In a rental, the landlord can require the tenant to restore the interior to its previous condition at move-out, minus normal wear and tear.

What Discrimination Looks Like in Practice

Fair housing law reaches more than outright refusals. A housing provider cannot refuse to rent, sell, or negotiate because of a protected characteristic, and they cannot charge different rent, demand a larger security deposit, restrict access to amenities, or impose different lease terms on that basis.4California Legislative Information. California Government Code 12955 Telling someone a unit is unavailable when it is open is also a violation.

Steering is subtler. It happens when a real estate professional guides buyers or renters toward or away from certain neighborhoods based on race, religion, national origin, or another protected characteristic. An agent who shows Latino families one set of neighborhoods and white families a different set is steering, even without saying anything explicitly discriminatory.

Blockbusting is the related practice of trying to profit by pushing homeowners to sell quickly below market by claiming that people of a particular race, religion, or national origin are about to move in. The federal Fair Housing Act bans it. Actual profit is not required; the intent to profit is enough.7eCFR. 24 CFR 100.85 – Blockbusting

Advertising is tightly regulated. Any housing ad that expresses a preference or limitation based on a protected class is unlawful, whether written, online, or spoken. Describe the property, not the people you want in it. Phrases like “ideal for young professionals,” “no kids,” “English speakers preferred,” or “Christian household” all violate the rules.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3604

Who Has to Follow These Laws

California’s fair housing laws apply to nearly everyone involved in a housing transaction: landlords, property owners, property management companies, real estate agents and brokers, and banks and mortgage lenders making housing-related loans.2Department of Justice. The Fair Housing Act FEHA defines “owner” broadly enough to cover lessees, property managers, real estate brokers, and anyone with a legal right to rent or sell housing.8California Legislative Information. California Government Code 12927

When the Rules Don’t Apply

Exemptions are narrow, and they never permit discriminatory advertising.

Federal law carves out two situations. An owner of a single-family home can sell or rent without complying with the federal Act if they own no more than three such homes, do not use a real estate broker, and do not use discriminatory advertising. The “Mrs. Murphy” exemption covers owner-occupied buildings with four or fewer units where the owner lives in one of them.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3603 California’s state protections are broader and are not automatically waived by these federal exemptions.

Qualifying senior housing is exempt from the familial status protection, so a properly designated senior community can restrict occupancy to older residents. The property has to meet the standards of a state or federal program for elderly persons or comply with California’s senior housing provisions in the Civil Code, and the owner carries the burden of proving the property qualifies.10California Legislative Information. California Government Code 12955.9

Filing a Complaint

If you believe you have experienced housing discrimination in California, you can file at either the federal or state level, or both. The deadline in each system is one year from the date of the last discriminatory act.

At the federal level, you file with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development online, by phone, by email, or by mail. HUD notifies the party you have complained about and gives them a chance to respond. An investigator may ask you for a timeline, witness names, and documents, and HUD issues a written report of its findings when the investigation ends.11U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Learn About FHEO’s Process to Report and Investigate Housing Discrimination

At the state level, you file with the California Civil Rights Department.12California Civil Rights Department. Complaint Process You can file online through CRD’s California Civil Rights System, by email, by mail to CRD’s Sacramento headquarters, by phone at 800-884-1684, or in person at a CRD office.13California Civil Rights Department. How to File a Complaint Before CRD files a lawsuit on your behalf, the department typically requires the parties to go through mediation. If mediation fails, CRD may pursue the case through its administrative process or file a civil action in court.