Texas Fair Housing Act: Protected Classes and Penalties

The Texas Fair Housing Act, found in Chapter 301 of the Texas Property Code, makes it illegal to discriminate in the sale, rental, or financing of housing based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability.¹ If a landlord, seller, agent, or lender treats you differently because of one of those characteristics, you can file a complaint with the Texas Workforce Commission, file a federal complaint with HUD, or sue in state court. Remedies include compensatory damages, attorney fees, corrective orders, and civil penalties.

Who Is Protected

The state law tracks the federal Fair Housing Act’s seven protected classes: race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability.¹

Familial status is broader than many people realize. It covers households with children under 18, pregnant women, and anyone in the process of securing legal custody of a minor. A landlord cannot refuse to rent to you because you have children, push your family toward specific buildings or floors, or use occupancy limits that are really designed to exclude families rather than address a real safety concern.

Disability protections cover more than the decision to rent. They also require housing providers to make reasonable accommodations to their rules and to allow reasonable physical modifications, which the section below explains in more detail.

One important boundary: Texas state law does not protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. A bill in the 89th Texas Legislature (HB 1601) would add those categories, but it has not become law. In 2025, HUD also halted enforcement of its 2016 rule that had extended gender identity protections in HUD-funded programs, directing providers to offer services based on sex at birth.² Neither state nor federal fair housing enforcement is a reliable route on those grounds in Texas right now.

What Housing Providers Cannot Do

The law reaches obvious refusals and quieter tactics alike. A landlord cannot refuse to sell, rent, or negotiate with you because of your protected status. They also cannot quote different rental terms to different applicants, slow-walk your application in hopes you give up, or falsely tell you a unit is unavailable.

Steering is a common violation. It happens when an agent or landlord nudges you toward or away from a neighborhood, building, or floor based on race, religion, or family makeup. Framing it as helpful advice about where you would “fit in best” does not save it.

Blockbusting, where someone tries to profit by convincing homeowners that people of a particular race or background are moving into the neighborhood, is also prohibited.³

Advertising

Listings cannot state a preference or limitation tied to a protected class. “No children,” “Christian household preferred,” or coded language meant to deter certain applicants is unlawful. The advertising rule applies to everyone, including owners whose properties would otherwise qualify for an exemption. A discriminatory ad voids the exemption.

Lending and Appraisals

Mortgage lenders, appraisers, and other housing-related financial actors cannot deny an application, charge higher rates, or impose harsher terms based on the racial or ethnic composition of a neighborhood. That practice, redlining, remains prohibited under the federal Fair Housing Act and Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and federal agencies retain authority to enforce those laws.

Retaliation

A landlord cannot punish you for using your fair housing rights. Retaliatory evictions, sudden rent increases, non-renewals, and harassment after you complain, participate in an investigation, or request an accommodation are all actionable. That includes indirect retaliation, like suddenly enforcing “lease violations” that were never enforced before.

Blanket Criminal History Bans

Automatic rejection of any applicant with a criminal record can create fair housing exposure because such policies disproportionately screen out people based on race or national origin. HUD guidance calls for individualized assessment that considers the nature of the offense, how long ago it occurred, and whether it is relevant to tenancy. A flat “no criminal record” rule without that kind of review is vulnerable to a disparate impact claim.

You Don’t Have to Prove Intent

The U.S. Supreme Court confirmed in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. (2015) that a housing policy can violate the Fair Housing Act if it disproportionately harms a protected group, even without discriminatory intent.⁴ A facially neutral rule like a minimum-income threshold or a credit score cutoff can be challenged if it effectively screens out a protected class and is not justified by a legitimate business need. The case originated in Texas and shapes how policies are evaluated here.

Disability Accommodations and Assistance Animals

Housing providers must make reasonable accommodations to rules, policies, or services when a person with a disability needs them for equal use of a home. They must also allow reasonable physical modifications to the unit, though the tenant usually pays for those modifications.

A reasonable accommodation is a change to how things are normally done: a closer parking space for someone with a mobility impairment, a waiver of a guest policy for a live-in aide, or a different package-delivery location tied to a disability. A landlord can deny a request that would be an undue financial or administrative burden or would fundamentally change how they operate.⁵

Assistance animals are the most common accommodation issue. An assistance animal is not a pet; it is an animal that works, provides assistance, or gives emotional support that alleviates the effects of a disability.⁵ A no-pet policy must yield to an assistance animal as a reasonable accommodation, and no pet deposit or pet fee can be charged for the animal. Breed restrictions and weight limits that apply to pets do not apply to assistance animals.

What a landlord can ask for depends on whether the disability and the need are obvious. When someone using a wheelchair has a service dog for mobility, both are apparent and the landlord should not ask for documentation. Otherwise, the landlord can ask for reliable information confirming that the person has a disability and that the animal provides disability-related assistance. A letter from a licensed healthcare provider is usually enough. The landlord is not entitled to a diagnosis.

A landlord can refuse a specific assistance animal only in narrow circumstances: the animal poses a direct threat to health or safety that cannot be reduced through other accommodations, or it would cause significant property damage that cannot be mitigated.⁵

Exemptions

The TFHA does not apply to every housing situation. The exemptions are narrow, and the conditions are easy to lose.

Owner-occupied small buildings. If you own a building with four or fewer units and live in one of them, you can choose tenants without following the anti-discrimination rules. This is sometimes called the “Mrs. Murphy exemption.” Use a real estate agent or broker, and the exemption disappears.
Single-family homes sold or rented without a broker. If you sell or rent a single-family home without a broker and own no more than three such properties, the transaction is exempt. This applies only to the transaction, not to how you advertise it.
Religious organizations. A religious organization can limit occupancy in housing it owns or operates to members of the same faith, as long as membership itself is not restricted by race, color, or national origin.⁶
Private clubs. A private club that provides lodging to its members as an incidental benefit, rather than as a commercial operation, can restrict occupancy to members.

The advertising rule applies even where an exemption otherwise covers the transaction. An owner-occupied fourplex owner who qualifies for the Mrs. Murphy exemption still cannot run an ad that says “no families with children.” A discriminatory ad voids the exemption.

What Texas Does Not Cover

Texas does not protect tenants against source-of-income discrimination. A landlord can legally refuse to accept a Section 8 housing choice voucher. In 2015, the legislature went further and prohibited local governments from enacting their own source-of-income ordinances, with a narrow exception allowing local protections for veterans using vouchers.

Sexual orientation and gender identity, as noted above, are also outside the state law.

Filing a Complaint

You have three enforcement routes, each with its own deadline.

State Complaint With the Civil Rights Division

You can file a complaint with the Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division (CRD).⁷ The deadline is one year from the date the discriminatory act occurred or ended, whichever is later.⁸ If the discrimination was ongoing, the clock runs from the last incident.

You submit a written account of what happened, including who was involved, the property address, and any evidence you have. The CRD notifies the person or entity you’re complaining about and gives them a chance to respond. Investigators may interview witnesses, review documents, and visit the property. If the CRD finds reasonable cause, it first tries conciliation, where both sides negotiate terms such as policy changes or compensation. If conciliation fails, the case can go to a hearing before the State Office of Administrative Hearings, where an administrative law judge decides the outcome. Filing costs nothing.

Federal Complaint With HUD

You can file directly with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD may investigate independently or work with the state CRD. The federal deadline is also one year. In cases involving a pattern of discrimination or systemic violations, the U.S. Department of Justice may bring its own enforcement action.

Private Lawsuit in State Court

You also have the right to skip the administrative process and sue in Texas district court. The deadline is two years from the date of the discriminatory act.⁹ In a private suit, you can seek compensatory damages for out-of-pocket losses, emotional distress, and attorney fees. You have more control over timing, but you bear the litigation costs.

Penalties and Remedies

What a violator faces depends on the enforcement path and whether they have a history of prior violations.

In civil actions brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, the base statutory penalties are $50,000 for a first violation and $100,000 for a subsequent violation.¹⁰ HUD administrative penalties, decided by an administrative law judge, follow a separate tiered schedule that is adjusted annually for inflation. Under the most recent adjustments, first-time violations can exceed $26,000, and third or subsequent violations within seven years can exceed $131,000.

Beyond fines, violators can be ordered to pay victims for actual financial losses, emotional distress, and attorney fees. Courts and administrative judges can also require fair housing training for staff, changes to tenant screening policies, or an independent monitor to oversee compliance. In cases involving widespread or egregious discrimination, the Texas Attorney General can sue for injunctive relief and additional penalties.

1
Texas State Law Library. Housing Discrimination
2
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Secretary Scott Turner Halts Enforcement Actions of HUD Gender Identity Rule
3
Justia Law. Texas Property Code Title 15 Chapter 301
4
Justia. Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v Inclusive Communities Project Inc
5
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Assistance Animals
6
State of Texas. Texas Property Code 301-042
7
Texas Workforce Commission. Civil Rights Division
8
Cornell Law Institute. 40 Texas Admin Code 819-151 – Filing a Complaint
9
State of Texas. Texas Property Code 301-151 – Civil Action
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3614