Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 2, 1995 TAG: 9503310042
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: F1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAG POFF
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The law also bars bias against the handicapped. Ads mentioning the great view, jogging trails or walk-to-bus-stop may be insensitive at best and illegal at worst.
The law means most landlords can't keep out kids, but suppose no bicycle riding is allowed within the complex?
Weighing of words is no laughing matter to members of the Roanoke Valley Board of Realtors, which must conform to the Federal Fair Housing Act.
And so should the average homeowner or investment property owner. If you ever try to sell or rent your own home, you too must conform to the act and to regulations of the Department of Housing and Urban Development when you try to write your classified ad. It may be more of a headache than you bargained for.
But it's easier than in the past. In January, HUD lightened up on acceptable speech, allowing terms - such as the ones mentioned at the beginning of this column - that for years were verboten in ads for housing sales and rentals.
The Federal Fair Housing Act prohibits advertising that states a preference or that discriminates on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin. Virginia law adds elderliness as a protected class.
Don Constable, president of the Roanoke Valley Association of Realtors, said the recent HUD ruling "brought back language we hadn't been able to use." The words "nice view," he noted, had been seen as discriminating against the visually handicapped.
The phrases mother-in-law suite and bachelor pad are "very descriptive" terms that are commonly understood in an advertisement, Constable said, and are not viewed by the public in a sexual context. Everyone knows that a mother-in-law would be able to live in a bachelor apartment while a grown son occupies the semi-separate, in-dwelling living suite.
Similarly, HUD has ruled , is that "master bedroom" is a physical description of a room that is understood by everyone and has no basis in gender. It indicates no explicit preference for males, said Steve Davidson, chairman of the Roanoke Valley Realtors' Equal Opportunity Committee.
That committee each year conducts a three-hour fair housing seminar. All new agents are required to go through the seminar as part of their orientation, said Davidson. And all agents take fair-housing refresher courses as part of their continuing education program.
Davidson said his committee constantly updates fair-housing information as court cases are decided and as HUD issues new regulations. Until HUD made its recent rulings, however, most issues were decided in the courts as plaintiffs contended that certain words were illegal.
Many words are clearly illegal. You cannot, obviously, say "no Irish" when you advertise an apartment or a home for rent or sale.
Religious symbols are out. The law prohibits using a cross, for instance, because it suggests a religious preference - unless there also is a disclaimer of nondiscrimination.
Less obviously, a seller couldn't say that a house is located near a specific church without adding he will not discriminate among potential buyers on the basis of religion.
It's OK, on the other hand, to run ads that mention Santa Claus, the Easter bunny, St. Valentine's Day, Happy Easter and Merry Christmas.
Realtors formerly avoided such descriptions as "two-bedroom, cozy family home" or an owner's preference for "no bicycles," Davidson said. One was seen to rule out singles while the second discriminated against children.
Now, Davidson added, they are seen as informative - one suggesting that the home is suitable only for small families and the other warning of a rule of the complex. You can even say "quiet streets" or "desirable neighborhood."
"It's important in advertising to inform," Davidson said.
Besides the Equal Opportunity Committee, whose purpose is education, the association has an advertising committee that polices such matters.
Its chairman, Steve Gallia, said the 14-member committee monitors all newspaper, radio and television advertising in the Roanoke Valley on the subject of real estate. The ads must measure up to the Truth in Advertising law as well as the Fair Housing Act.
The committee has authority over members of the Roanoke Valley Association of Realtors, Gallia said. In theory, it has authority over all advertising and could - but does not - report to HUD violations of the law by ordinary citizens trying to market their own homes.
When the advertisers are individuals, the Roanoke Times & World-News helps customers word their ads in conformity with the law.
Lee Clark, the newspaper's classified advertising manager, said all ad-takers are trained to understand the fair-housing guidelines. They make sure that customers word their advertising so that they comply with the law.
The new HUD guidelines make clear that newspapers and their customers are liable for any offensive advertising they accept from customers. "Publishers and advertisers are responsible under the act for making, printing or publishing an advertisement that violates the act on its face," HUD wrote.
Newspapers, however, can accept some things on faith. "Female roommate," for example, is a permissible exception to gender rules. "Publishers can rely on the representations of the individual placing the ad that shared living arrangements apply to the property in question," HUD wrote. "Persons placing such advertisements, however, are responsible for satisfying the conditions for the exemption."
Clark said he knows of no complaints in this area about advertising under the Fair Housing Act.
Gallia's committee can - and does - take steps against real estate agents in the Roanoke Valley.
If the committee spots a violation, Gallia said, it notifies the offender in writing of the nature of the violation.
Should the same person violate the Fair Housing Act again, he or she would be summoned to meet with Gallia to discuss what is being done wrong and what is needed to correct the problem.
The third violation is referred to the association's grievance committee, which investigates the complaint and, if necessary, sends it on to the professional standards committee. That can result in sanctions such as fines and suspensions.
Gallia said the matter seldom goes beyond the first step, and the second step is very rare. He's never seen a problem referred to the grievance committee.
Problems are the result of "honest error," Gallia said, because the fair housing and truth in advertising rules are very complex and constantly changing.
by CNB