sex, familial status, disability
Before you read
Test yourself first: 5 questions
Question 1 of 5
How many classes are protected under the federal Fair Housing Act?
Answer: C. Seven: race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, and disability (handicap).
Question 2 of 5
Which is NOT a class protected by the FEDERAL Fair Housing Act (though some states add it)?
Answer: A. Source of income, sexual orientation, age, and marital status are not in the seven federal classes, though many states/localities protect them.
Question 3 of 5
Which of the following is NOT one of the seven protected classes under the federal Fair Housing Act?
Answer: C. Marital status is not a federally protected class. The seven federal classes are race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, and disability (handicap).
Question 4 of 5
How many protected classes are currently covered under the federal Fair Housing Act?
Answer: D. There are seven federally protected classes: race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, and disability.
Question 5 of 5
The two protected classes added to the Fair Housing Act by the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 were:
Answer: B. The 1988 amendments added familial status and disability (handicap) to the law's protected classes.
Keep the streak going with more questions like these, each with a full rationale.
Must-know rules
- 7 classes: race, color, religion, national origin,
- sex, familial status, disability
- Steering: guiding by protected class — illegal
- Blockbusting: panic selling — illegal
- Redlining: denying loans by area — illegal
- Advertise the PROPERTY, not the desired occupant
- Enforced by HUD · file within 1 year
Fair Housing — Classes & No-Nos: FAQs
Is Fair Housing — Classes & No-Nos on the real estate exam?
Yes. Fair Housing & Ethics is a scored domain on the real estate licensing exam, and this topic appears in the national portion.
Is this cheat sheet free?
Yes — every page on Cinna RE's resource library is free to read, print and share. The app adds practice questions, mock exams and a readiness score.
