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Marital status discrimination in housing is widespread and legal - and completely unfair. AtMP calls on Congress to amend the Federal Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of marital status. AtMP calls on the states to enforce their existing laws against marital status discrimination, and to repeal any laws that prohibit cohabitation. This section includes:
How does the law permit marital status discrimination in housing?
The Federal Fair Housing Act
prohibits discrimination on the basis of ‘familial status', which
pertains to the presence of children under age 18, but is silent on
marital status. About half of U.S. states explicitly prohibit
marital status discrimination in housing, but about half the states
are silent on it. In these states (unless there are stronger local
laws), a landlord can legally refuse to rent to an unmarried couple.
In these states, a town can decree that unmarried families, roommates
or extended families cannot live certain neighborhoods.
State laws prohibiting cohabitation typically use words like lewd and
lascivious, public scandal, disgrace, "crime against public morals and
decency." These laws were written generations ago, and no longer
reflect citizen's values. Nonetheless, in these states a
cohabiting different-sex couple can be charged with a crime, fined and
imprisoned! True life examples of marital status discrimination in housing These laws are not enforced consistently, and are often ignored. Most landlords probably don't discriminate, even if they are allowed to. We haven't heard of anyone being imprisoned for cohabiting. However, discrimination does happen, and when it does, it hurts!
In 2006, Olivia Shelltrack,
Fondrey Loving and their three children were denied an occupancy permit
when they moved into a five-bedroom house because Ms. Shelltrack and
Mr. Loving are not married. In Black Jack, anyone moving into a single-family
home must apply for an occupancy permit. The city prohibits more
than three people from living together unless they are related by "blood,
marriage or adoption." The city threatened to evict the Shelltrack-Loving
family. After several months, under media spotlights and facing
a lawsuit by the ACLU, the city amended its zoning law. In 2004, shortly after starting her job as a sheriff's dispatcher in North Carolina, Debora Hobbs was given this unfair ultimatum: either marry her partner, or move out of the house he lived in, or lose her job. The ACLU took her case to court. The good news is that, in 2006, the court finally found the state's cohabitation ban to be unconstitutional. The bad news is that, by the end of 2007, no legislative action has yet been taken to repeal the law. In 1998, Dorian Solot and Marshall Miller were looking for an apartment in the Boston area. They inquired about a listing only to have the landlord make it clear that he would not rent to unmarried couples. They later found that the landlord's inquiry into their marital status was illegal, but they couldn't find any organization that would help them. This was one of the experiences that galvanized Dorian and Marshall to create the Alternatives to Marriage Project. Which states need to change their laws?
Florida, Michigan, Mississippi,
North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia have anti-cohabitation laws
in effect. create your own personalized map of the USA
The following states do not prohibit marital status discrimination in housing: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming.
It's not clear whether Alaska
and New Mexico prohibit marital status discrimination in housing.
A handy summary of federal
and state laws http://www.craigslist.org If you believe you've experienced illegal discrimination, you can find lists of organizations that can help you here:
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Do you live in a municipality that forbids unmarried folks from living together? Find out at Municode.com a searchable website of municipal codes. If you find restrictions on unmarried cohabitation where you live, please let us know. Write letters to your elected officials. Tell Congress to amend the Federal Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of marital status.Tell your governor and state representatives to prohibit marital status discrimination. Tell your governor and state representatives to repeal any anti-cohabitation laws. |
© 2008 Alternatives to Marriage Project