Final answer:
An action is not a Fair Housing violation if it does not involve discrimination based on protected characteristics and is based on legitimate, legal reasons such as economic factors or creditworthiness. The Fair Housing Act aims to prevent housing discrimination against specific characteristics such as race, gender, or disability.
Step-by-step explanation:
All of these actions are a potential Fair Housing violation EXCEPT when the action in question does not involve discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, as prohibited by the Fair Housing Act of 1968 (also known as the Civil Rights Act of 1968). Actions that could otherwise be considered violations do not count as such if they are based on legitimate business reasons that comply with the law, such as economic factors or the applicant's creditworthiness. For example, if a landlord refuses to rent to a person with a history of evictions and poor credit, this would not be a Fair Housing violation as long as the landlord applies these criteria uniformly to all applicants irrespective of their protected characteristics.
The Fair Housing Act was established to prevent discrimination in the sale or rental of housing and has been strengthened over time to combat both overt and covert forms of discrimination. Although the practice of denying loans or making them irrationally expensive for certain racial groups—known as redlining—was curtailed, studies suggest that discriminatory practices persist, but with less direct methods. Realtors showing fewer homes to minority homebuyers or tenants facing stiffer credit checks are modern examples where the discriminatory impact is less obvious, difficult to detect, and challenging to address.