What Fair Housing violations are undocumented immigrants able to file?
Undocumented immigrants are allowed to claim the same violations as documented residents and citizens. The Fair Housing Act protects discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin. Claims on the basis of legal status or alienage are not protected, however, these types of discrimination are often due to national origin, which is protected.

What Is Prohibited?
In the Sale and Rental of Housing: No one may take any of the following actions based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or handicap:

• Refuse to rent or sell housing
• Refuse to negotiate for housing
• Make housing unavailable
• Deny a dwelling
• Set different terms, conditions or privileges for sale or rental of a dwelling
• Provide different housing services or facilities
• Falsely deny that housing is available for inspection, sale, or rental
• For profit, persuade owners to sell or rent (blockbusting) or
• Deny anyone access to or membership in a facility or service (such as a multiple listing service) related to the sale or rental of housing. 

In Mortgage Lending: No one may take any of the following actions based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or handicap (disability):

• Refuse to make a mortgage loan
• Refuse to provide information regarding loans
• Impose different terms or conditions on a loan, such as different interest rates, points, or fees
• Discriminate in appraising property
• Refuse to purchase a loan or
• Set different terms or conditions for purchasing a loan. 

In Addition: It is illegal for anyone to:

• Threaten, coerce, intimidate or interfere with anyone exercising a fair housing right or assisting others who exercise that right
• Advertise or make any statement that indicates a limitation or preference based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or handicap. This prohibition against discriminatory advertising applies to single-family and owner-occupied housing that is otherwise exempt from the Fair Housing Act. 

Will anyone inquire about my legal status during the complaint process?
The US Department of Housing and Urban Development does not have a formal policy regarding this but legal status should not be an obstacle to filing an administrative complaint. A person’s legal status is not a relevant factor in determining someone’s claim. Their legal status should not be called into question during a Fair Housing Act claim.

What is National Origin Discrimination and who does it affect?
National origin discrimination is being treated differently or being denied housing because of your national origin. Housing discrimination based upon national origin is prohibited by federal and state fair housing laws.  Legal non- citizen residents, nationalized citizens, U.S. born citizens and undocumented immigrants can all be victims of national origin discrimination.

Can a landlord inquire about legal status of tenants?
The Fair Housing Act does not prohibit discrimination based solely on a person's legal residency status. Therefore asking to provide documentation of legal residency would not violate Fair Housing laws. However, if the landlord has made this a requirement, ALL applicants must be required to provide proof of legal status. It should be noted that asking for verification of legal status does not constitute a “business necessity”, and therefore is not mandatory.  Federally subsidized housing (i.e. Section 8 or public housing) does require proof of legal residency. 

Is it illegal to rent to a person who is not a legal resident?
No, it is not a crime to rent to an illegal immigrant nor does this qualify as “harboring an illegal alien”.  It is only illegal to hire an undocumented alien for employment purposes.

Is it illegal to require social security for a credit check?
No, it is not illegal to require a social security number for a credit check, so long as it is asked to all applicants.  A landlord can offer alternatives to income verification such as a Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) or other government issued documents that provide proof of identity, and not just rely upon social security numbers and standard credit checks.

Is legal status required to file a fair housing complaint?
Any person can file a complaint and may not be intimidated or threatened or prevented from filing the complaint, regardless of immigration status. 

What are some of the barriers immigrants face in enforcing their fair housing rights?
Some of the barriers faced by immigrants are language barriers, cultural differences, mistrust and fear of “institutions”, fear of retaliation for filing complaints, and lack of knowledge of judicial system and Fair Housing protections.

guide written by the Immigrant Housing Forum of the Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance