Before you read
Test yourself first: 5 questions
Question 1 of 5
An online rental listing platform allows advertisers to exclude users by age and family status from seeing housing ads. Targeting ads to exclude protected classes most likely constitutes:
Answer: B. Limiting who can see housing advertisements based on protected characteristics such as age (familial status) makes or causes to be made statements that indicate a preference or limitation, violating the Fair Housing Act's advertising provisions.
Question 2 of 5
Instead of filing a complaint with HUD, an aggrieved person may file a private civil lawsuit in federal court within what time period after the discriminatory act?
Answer: B. Under the Fair Housing Act, an aggrieved person may bring a private civil action in federal or state court within two years of the discriminatory housing practice.
Question 3 of 5
Civil penalties in HUD administrative fair housing cases generally increase based on what factor?
Answer: B. Maximum civil penalties rise for repeat offenders; a respondent with prior fair housing violations faces higher penalties than a first-time violator.
Question 4 of 5
An owner asks the property manager to refuse to rent to families with children to keep the building 'quiet.' The manager should:
Answer: B. The duty of obedience does not extend to unlawful instructions; refusing families with children is familial-status discrimination under fair housing law, so the manager must decline.
Question 5 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.
Keep the streak going with more questions like these, each with a full rationale.
What you need to know
Mayer, 1968, confirmed it). The FAIR HOUSING ACT (Title VIII, 1968) added color, religion, and national origin with limited exemptions; 1974 added SEX; the 1988 AMENDMENTS added DISABILITY and FAMILIAL STATUS, plus HUD enforcement teeth. HUD's discriminatory-effects rule reaches policies that disproportionately harm protected groups even without intent. State and local laws add classes — sexual orientation, gender identity, source of income, age — and the STRICTEST applicable law controls the licensee's conduct.
The Fair Housing Time Line: FAQs
Is The Fair Housing Time Line 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.
