Unlawful Discrimination And The Landlord Tenant Relationship In California

You should know that the landlord cannot indulge in any sort of discrimination. He cannot say no to rent a property on behalf of discrimination. Race and religion are the two things which the landlords have to avoid. If they are found participating in some sort of discrimination then they might be punished. According to the California legislature the tenants have the full right to question the landlord in the court if he is caught doing the racial discrimination.

As per the California law, it is clearly mentioned that the landlord, real estate broker, lawyer or the managing agent cannot harass the tenant on the basis of the race, color, religion and sex. This also includes the pregnancy, childbirth or the perception of the gender.

The landlord cannot discriminate on the basis of the following things:

He cannot discriminate on the basis of the medical condition of the person. The physical disability should also not be the issue.
The physical appearance or the sexual orientation should also not be made the issue.
As far as the sex, race, orientation, marital status, color, source of income or disability is concerned; they should also not be made the issue.

It is certainly unlawful for the landlord to

Refuse to rent, sell or provide the property on lease on the basis of the discrimination.
Refuse to discuss on sale, leasing or renting on the basis of the discrimination.
Telling that the house is not available for the inspection, selling, renting or leasing while the truth is that it is available.
Giving inferior terms and conditions, providing third class facilities just because of the racial discrimination.
Canceling the rental agreement or what has been mentioned in the landlord tenant form just because of discrimination.
To refuse a person just because he is disabled.

You should also know that it is quite illegal issue if the landlord is discriminating on the basis of the fact that the family has a child who is below 18 years of age. Generally such children are not mature and can be a source of problem for the landlord. Hence, the landlord do not generally want to give the property on rent to such people but as far as the law book is concerned, this is certainly now allowed.

If you are proved to be the victim of the housing discrimination then you will enjoy many legal remedies. All of them are quite important and you need to keep them in your mind. The law book confirms that you should not be afraid of the discrimination.

Originally published here.


James is a leader in writing about legal forms and agreements that may assist you when you are in the search of the right legal document. He writes many articles about forms ranging from, real estate forms, power of attorney forms, landlord forms, and almost any legal form that you are searching for.


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