In screening rental or purchase applicants, which approach is consistent with fair housing requirements?

• A. Use uniform, non-discriminatory screening processes and not rely on protected characteristics.
• B. Consider protected characteristics such as race or religion when screening.
• C. Never ask for references to avoid bias.
• D. Allow landlord to set any criteria and apply inconsistently to different applicants.

Answer: (D)

A fair housing-compliant screening approach centers on neutral, uniform criteria applied to every applicant. Decisions should be based on objective factors that predict tenancy reliability—such as income, employment history, credit or debt-to-income ratio, and verifiable rental references—without considering characteristics protected by law. This uniform treatment protects applicants from discrimination and aligns with the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits using race, religion, national origin, sex, disability, familial status, or other protected traits in housing decisions.

Introducing any criteria tied to protected characteristics or applying rules inconsistently clearly crosses legal lines and undermines equal access. When a landlord sets criteria and applies them differently to different applicants, it opens the door to discriminatory practices and undermines both fairness and liability.