If you’re a regular Coach user, you already understand the importance of training employees about fair housing laws and how to comply with them. So, rather than preach to the choir, this month’s Lesson is about how to provide the most effective fair housing training possible. We’ve distilled the current industry standards and best practices for fair housing training of leasing agents and other key multifamily housing employees into 10 Do’s & Don’ts. At the end of the Lesson, we’ll give you a Quiz enabling you to gauge whether you’ve learned the material and can apply it to real-life situations.

WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY?

The federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) bans landlords and other housing providers from discriminating against rental applicants and tenants on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, or familial status. The words “train” and “training” appear in neither the FHA nor its regulations. What the law does say, though, is that landlords are accountable for the actions of their agents and employees. Thus, many if not most of the over 30,000 discrimination complaints filed against landlords in America each year involve alleged wrongdoing by a leasing agent, property manager, maintenance person, or other frontline staffer. Bottom Line: Training employees to comply with fair housing laws is essential to minimizing risks of liability for discrimination. 

Question: How do you know what kind of compliance training to provide employees when the fair housing laws don’t address the issue? 

Answer: The basic standards for fair housing compliance training derive not from the laws but best practices and industry standards rather than the laws themselves. 

10 FAIR HOUSING TRAINING DOS & DON’TS

Based on a review of current literature, guidelines, and other sources, we’ve boiled down what we believe to be the current unofficial standards for employee fair housing training and education in the multifamily property industry into these 10 Do’s & Don’ts.  

√ #1. DO Provide Training to All Employees, Not Just Leasing Agents

It’s natural to focus on the leasing office when plotting a fair housing training strategy. After all, leasing agents, receptionists, and other employees who interface directly with rental prospects are the face of your community. They’re the ones who answer the phones, respond to the emails, conduct the tours, explain the rental standards, process the applications, and carry out the other essential functions of the rental process. Consequently, they’re often the source of any fair housing problems that do arise.

But they’re also not the only ones you need to worry about. Any employee who interacts with prospects, applicants, tenants, guests, or members of the public is a potential source of discrimination and fair housing liability. That includes administrative staff, housekeepers, maintenance workers, groundskeepers, fitness center trainers, pool lifeguards, and attendants of any other amenities your community provides. Examples: 

• $100,000: What a Nevada landlord had to pay when its property manager evicted a disabled tenant because she had an assistance animal [U.S. v. Las Vegas Jaycees, (D. Nev.) 2021]; 
• $160,000: The damage award against a Kansas landlord for the sexual harassment committed by its property manager against female tenants over a five-year period [U.S. v. Cao, Case 6:17-cv-01310-EFM (D. Kan.)]; and
• $45,000: The price paid by a South Dakota landlord to settle a case brought by Black visitors on the receiving end of a maintenance supervisor’s racial slurs [U.S. v. T.K. Properties, LLC, (D. S.D.) 2011].

Coach’s Tip: Guard against contractor and vendor discrimination as well. Don’t overlook the risk of vicarious liability for discrimination committed by your contractors, vendors, and other independent contractors who interact with people at your site. (See “Avoiding Liability Risks for Fair Housing Violations Committed by Your Contractors,” Fair Housing Coach, February 2022). Although it may not be practical to train them yourself, you can include language in the service contract requiring the vendor to certify that all employees who perform the work for you will have received appropriate fair housing training and will refrain from any discriminatory comments or conduct while working at your property.  

X #2. DON’T Let New Employees Start Until They Complete Fair Housing Training

Fair housing training should be mandatory for all staff, including and especially those in management and leadership positions. It should also be provided as soon as possible after employees are hired and before they start the job. Avoid the common mistake of scheduling fair housing training for a future date after the employee starts. Letting employees interact with the public without the necessary fair housing training is very risky. During that “blind” period, employees are apt to say or do something that an individual versed in the ways of fair housing would know is wrong.  

Best Practice: Incorporate fair housing education into orientation and onboard training and require employees to complete that training before they actually start performing their job duties. If postponing training is unavoidable, keep the delay as short as possible and be sure that the employee is at least aware of fair housing and the community’s nondiscrimination policies and the imperative of treating everyone with politeness and respect and refraining from asking personal questions or making stray comments that could be offensive or discriminatory. Instruct them to ask for guidance if they’re unsure of what to do and ensure they know whom to ask for help.

√ #3. DO Give New Employees at Least 2 Hours of Initial Fair Housing Training 

While all employees should get at least some initial fair housing training, the amount of training necessary depends on the employee’s position and job duties. Two to four hours of fair housing training is the current minimum standard within the real estate agent industry for new staff who regularly interact with prospects, applicants, tenants, guests, etc. 

Best Practice: One hour of fair housing training should suffice for non-public facing positions. However, such employees should get the necessary two- to four-hour minimum when and if they’re transferred to a public-facing position—for example, where an off-site accountant is promoted to on-site property manager.    

X #4. DON’T Limit Fair Housing Training to the FHA

Make sure your training covers not just the FHA but all federal fair housing and civil rights laws that apply to your community, which may include: 

• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which covers multifamily housing communities that are “public accommodations”; 
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which bans disability discrimination in public housing, Section 8 and other federally assisted housing; and
• The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), banning discrimination against victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking in federally assisted housing.  

It’s especially crucial to incorporate state and local fair housing law requirements into your training. Explanation: In most states and municipalities, protection against housing discrimination extends not just to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, and familial status, but also to protected classes not listed in the FHA, such as marital status, age, source of income, sexual orientation, gender identity, domestic violence victims, veterans, criminal records, etc. These protections may be subtle, complex, and confusing, and employees need training on how to comply with them (see “Avoiding Discrimination Liability Under State Fair Housing Laws,” Coach, December 2021). 

Example: A leasing agent expresses concerns about an unemployed prospect who has no current employment income. What might to the untrained ear sound like a legitimate comment relating to the prospect’s financial qualifications may constitute discrimination if the prospect can pay the rent with a Section 8 housing voucher or other legal source of income (see “Source of Income Discrimination Liability Risks & How to Avoid Them,” Coach, October 2023).      

√ #5. DO Ensure Training Covers All of the Necessary Information

Fair housing training should, at a minimum, cover: 

• Federal, state, and local fair housing laws and how they’re enforced;
• Protected classes;
• The conduct and practices the law prohibits (see the Deep Dive below);
• Accessibility requirements (see “The 10 Most Common Accessibility Pitfalls & How to Avoid Them,” Coach, December 2024); and
• The community’s own fair housing policies, practices, and procedures.

DEEP DIVE:

Illegal Practices to Cover in Fair Housing Training

It’s important for trainees to understand the kinds of conduct the fair housing laws ban so they don’t engage in it. Training should describe key examples of practices that are illegal when based on race, religion, sex, etc., including:

• Refusing to rent, negotiate for, or otherwise making housing unavailable;
• Advertising or making any statement that indicates a preference or limitation (see “Avoiding Inadvertent Discrimination When Advertising Your Property,” Coach, January 2022);
• Falsely stating that housing is unavailable to show, rent, or buy;
• Steering applicants to or away from certain areas of a building or to different buildings or neighborhoods (see “How to Steer Clear of Illegal Steering,” Coach, March 2021);
• Requiring terms and conditions that are less favorable than those offered to other renters or buyers; 
• Denying or providing less favorable services and facilities; 
• Refusing to provide reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services when requested by persons with disabilities (see “10 Steps to Avoid Liability for Refusing Reasonable Accommodations Requests,” Coach, July 2023);
• Refusing to allow reasonable modifications to the premises when requested by persons with disabilities;
• Engaging in sexual and other forms of harassment (see “Avoid 10 Pitfalls When Responding to Harassment Complaints,” Coach, June 2021);
• Failing to take corrective action regarding complaints about harassment by other tenants or agents of the landlord (see “How to Limit Liability for Tenant-on-Tenant Harassment,” Coach, May 2021); and
• Threatening, coercing, intimidating, interfering with, or retaliating against someone for asserting their fair housing rights, or for helping others exercise their fair housing rights (see “Fair Housing Retaliation Liability Risks & How to Avoid Them,” Coach, October 2021).

√ #6. DO Emphasize Particular Problem Areas & Issues

The objective of fair housing training is to equip employees with the knowledge, understanding, and instruction they need to do their jobs without committing discrimination. While it’s impossible to cover every single situation that may arise, there are some important recurring problem areas that training should stress, including: 

• How to deal with reasonable accommodations requests, including those related to service animals, parking spaces, and physical alterations; 
• How certain statements, including in ads, that are well intentioned and not meant to be discriminatory may be deemed illegal expressions of a preference for or against a protected class, particularly in ads that talk about a community’s actual or “ideal for” tenants rather than its actual features;
• The importance of not asking questions or making comments about a prospect’s or tenant’s appearance, clothing, disability, children, or other personal attributes that could trigger a fair housing complaint, even if the prospect/tenant broaches the subject; 
• Steering and how what might seem like helpful comments or suggestions about which apartment a prospect might want, not want or be “more comfortable with,” such as suggesting that a couple with a toddler seeking a balcony-equipped apartment on a high floor might be better off on the ground floor, can get you into trouble; and
• The importance of consistency and treating all prospects and tenants the same regardless of race, sex, religion, etc. 

X #7. DON’T Automatically Assume that Employees Understand Their Training 

Simply delivering fair housing compliance training isn’t enough. Some employees may simply go through the motions just to get their training over with; others may struggle with the material but pretend they understand it because they’re too embarrassed or afraid to ask questions. That’s why it’s essential to verify that trainees understand and are capable of applying their training. 

Having employees sign a written acknowledgement of having received and understood their training won’t do, attorneys caution. “Employees will sign anything you ask them to, especially if they’re new to your company,” notes a Los Angeles attorney. Verification must be meaningful. Techniques for verifying training include: 

Post-training quizzes: Quiz employees after training sessions to test whether they understood the key points. Those who don’t score a certain percentage should get additional training or be required to retake the lesson. Best Practice:Use questions that require employees to apply the material to real-life situations rather than simply regurgitate it. 

Post-training demonstrations: Make employees demonstrate that they’re capable of applying their training. One way to do that is via role-playing exercises requiring the trainee to act out a challenging situation covered in the training with another person posing as a prospect or tenant, such as a scenario in which a newly trained manager must respond to a “disabled tenant’s” request for an assistance animal no-pets policy exemption. Another good technique is engaging trainees in group discussions. 

Post-training observations: The most direct way to determine if employees are applying their training is observing what they do (and don’t do) when they get back to work. 

√ #8. DO Provide Regular Refresher Training

Fair housing training isn’t a one-and-done proposition. It must be regularly refreshed as laws change, HUD issues and retracts new guidance, major court rulings come down, novel operational challenges emerge, and memories of previous training fades. Best Practice: Provide fair housing refresher training to public-facing employees at least once a year. Many landlords provide annual training during the Fair Housing Month of April. You should also be prepared to provide retraining and refresher training immediately as necessary in response to: 

• Actual fair housing complaints against or investigations of your property;
• Operational changes that previous training didn’t cover; and
• Indications that your current training isn’t up to date or effective. 

√ #9. DO Keep Records of the Fair Housing Training You Provide 

Document the fair housing training you provide, including the things you did to verify employees’ comprehension and competency to apply their training. Written records should list: 

• The trainer and trainee’s name;
• The time and dates training was provided; and
• The information the training covered.

These documents demonstrate your commitment to fair housing principles and your good-faith effort to ensure that all your employees understand and follow the law. They’re also one of the first things HUD and state/local government officials look for when investigating a community for a fair housing complaint. Best Practice: Keep training records for at least three years in a physical location or digital file that you can easily access (see “11 Documentation Best Practices for Minimizing Fair Housing Liability,” Coach, March 2025).  

√ #10. DO Get Employee Feedback on Training Effectiveness

You need to continuously monitor your fair housing training program to gauge its effectiveness and determine how to improve it. A great way to do that is by going directly to the employees you actually train. In addition to gathering the insight you need to identify problems and make improvements, asking for feedback engages employees and gives them a stake in the training process. Best Practice: Provide post-training questionnaires or evaluation forms that employees can complete anonymously. Other effective techniques for gathering employee feedback on training include interviews, focus groups, and informal chats.