Fair Housing Violations Get More Costly

Earlier this year, HUD published inflation-adjusted civil penalty amounts for individuals or companies that were found to have violated a variety of different housing-related laws, including the federal Fair Housing Act.

Under the revised amounts, a violator can be assessed a maximum civil penalty of $23,011 for a first violation of the Fair Housing Act. If the person or firm had violated the Fair Housing Act in the previous five years and are again in violation, they can be fined a maximum of $57,527, and respondents who had violated the law two or more times in the previous seven years can be fined a maximum of $115,054 upon another violation.

It's important to note that these civil penalty amounts are in addition to actual damages and attorney’s fees and costs that may be awarded to someone who has experienced housing discrimination.

Prior to this adjustment, the 2022 penalties were $21,663 for a first violation; $54,157 for a second violation; and $108,315 for a third violation.