The Fair Housing Act at 50

Fifty years ago today, on April 11, 1968, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act–better known as the Fair Housing Act.

“Now, with this bill, the voice of justice speaks again,” Johnson said. “It proclaims that Fair Housing for all, all human beings who live in this country, is now part of the American way of life.”

“The Fair Housing Act is a landmark piece of legislation that ensures equal access to housing for everyone,” said Mortgage Bankers Association President and CEO David Stevens, CMB. “Its most important impact is that it explicitly prohibits discrimination in the buying, selling, renting, or financing of housing based on race, skin color, sex, nationality, religion, or any other protected class characteristic. The Fair Housing Act remains a vital law and is something that the real estate finance industry strongly endorses.”

To read an MBA Insights feature about the Fair Housing Act at 50, click https://www.mba.org/publications/insights/articles/featured-article/the-fair-housing-act-at-50.