Before you read
Test yourself first: 5 questions
Question 1 of 5
The owner of a single family home sells it himself, without an agent or discriminatory advertising, and refuses to sell to a buyer because of her religion. Under federal law this is:
Answer: B. The Fair Housing Act's FSBO exemption (owner of ≤3 single-family homes, no agent, no discriminatory ads) can cover religion-based refusal — distasteful but exempt. RACE would never be exempt (1866 Act). Many states remove these exemptions — federal question, federal answer.
Question 2 of 5
The limited 'Mrs. Murphy' exemption can apply to:
Answer: A. This narrow exemption may apply to owner-occupied dwellings of 4 or fewer units (and certain single-family sales without a broker) — but discriminatory ADVERTISING is never exempt.
Question 3 of 5
Individuals who pose as renters/buyers to check for discrimination are:
Answer: A. Testers gather evidence of discriminatory treatment and have standing to support fair-housing enforcement.
Question 4 of 5
A person who believes they faced housing discrimination may generally file a HUD complaint within:
Answer: A. HUD administrative complaints are generally due within one year of the alleged discriminatory act (court suits allow longer).
Question 5 of 5
Advertising a listing only in media that reaches one ethnic or religious group can be:
Answer: A. Selective advertising that limits exposure by protected class can violate fair-housing law even without explicit discriminatory wording.
Keep the streak going with more questions like these, each with a full rationale.
What you need to know
For neighborhood-composition questions, provide objective data sources (schools ratings sites, census data, crime statistics portals) and let the buyer research; describing demographics yourself is steering. Documenting equal treatment — same properties shown, same information given, consistent criteria applied — is the licensee's best defense against tester-based complaints.
Handling Discriminatory Requests: FAQs
Is Handling Discriminatory Requests 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.
