The United States has highly diverse and multi-cultural societies, but sadly, discrimination is an issue that is still prevalent today in the form of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, amongst others. This prejudice is not only limited to educational institutes or workplace but may also occur during a real estate transaction, especially on the basis of religion. According to National Fair Housing, there were more than 28,000 reported complaints pertaining to housing discrimination in 2016 alone. Religious discrimination happens when a person who is looking to conduct a real estate transaction is deprived from completing a transaction explicitly due to his or her religious beliefs. This means that a person or a group of people are treated unfairly due to their religious background.
How Can Religious Discrimination Take Place In Real Estate?
Religious discrimination can take place in different forms. For instance, an individual may be denied the ability to rent or purchase a property solely due to their religion. This may include refusing an individual based on their attire such as wearing a turban, headgear, or veil. Therefore, landlords are prohibited by law to ask about religion of their renter and also cannot evict tenants on the basis of their religion.
Furthermore, property owners cannot show a particular preference when advertising their housing. For instance, they cannot make any specific reference such as “no church, temple, or mosque nearby” to discourage people belonging from a particular faith or sect to buy the property. They must also refrain from providing favorable terms to an individual with a certain set of beliefs over others. That is not all, religious biases can also exist when a person makes rude or impolite comments related to individual’s religion such as their beliefs, dressing, or any other traits or characteristics that are associated with their faith.
Furthermore, this prejudice may also exist when people belonging from certain religious backgrounds are prohibited from hanging up decorations or idols. This discrimination can occur during different stages of buying or renting process, even when seeking a loan for your property. There are different rules set for commercial and residential properties to discourage religious discrimination that provides legal protection to people in such instances. Any individual or entity which discriminates a person or group of people due to their faith and religious background is violating anti-discrimination laws and may suffer legal consequences.
Therefore, if you believe that you faced discrimination on the basis of your religion during a real estate transaction, you have the right to sue for damages. Obtaining the services from a seasoned real estate lawyer will allow you to protect your rights and ensure that you do not become a victim of prejudice and partiality. A skillful real estate lawyer will analyze and assess the comments made by homeowner or look into their actions to determine if there is any violation of anti-discrimination law. If the findings were true, then your attorney will devise a solid case against the property owner to help you pursue a rightful compensation or other forms of relief.
For further information on discrimination laws pertaining to real estate or to schedule a free consultation, contact Casement Law Group, P.C. today at (847) 888-9300 to speak with a real estate lawyer.