"Can I Rent to Women Only?" What to Be Aware of When It Comes to Fair Housing

As a landlord, there are a lot of facets to your job: depending on how "hands-on" you are, you're part handyman or woman, part accountant, part marketer, part analyst, and part property manager. You are responsible for finding tenants for all of the properties in your real estate portfolio. This topic can seem like a murky one because you have leeway in whom you choose. You also have a vested interest in promoting the most harmonious living conditions that you can. You want your Carlsbad area rental properties to thrive and hang on to tenants who feel safe and welcome in their homes. Whether or not you are female yourself, you may have the idea of scrapping the coed living situation and renting only to women.

This idea can be tempting: many people often perceive women as being cleaner, quieter, and a little more dependable. We all have women in our lives that we love, and it's safe to say that we feel that they're pretty great. It's also important to remember that sometimes there are perceived concerns about safety and security that can come with renting to men. So, bottom line up front: is that a call that you can make? Can you turn your rental property into a gender-specific living situation?

Woman Moving

Can I Choose My Tenants Based on Sex or Gender?

Despite the advantages that you feel may come with this type of a decision, the answer is (in most cases) "no." The Federal Fair Housing Act prevents discrimination in housing against a wide range of categories. However, federal housing law does provide exceptions to these protections in a few housing situations:

  • Owner-occupied buildings with four or fewer rental units.
  • Any single-family housing rented without advertising or a broker, so long as you own no more than three such rentals at a time.
  • Organizational or private club housing where residency is limited to members.
  • Housing reserved exclusively for senior citizens.

As a Carlsbad landlord, you have a very narrow scope to be selective about the gender of your tenants. Generally speaking, laws against sex or gender discrimination will apply to any property in your real estate investment portfolio—except for a situation where your tenants will be sharing a living space with you. 

Primarily, this will only apply if you are renting to a single individual in an owner-occupied home. While you are allowed to indicate a preference for same-sex roommates in shared living situations, you should avoid discriminatory statements, notices, or advertisements. That said, you probably won't have these exemptions apply to your real estate portfolio in most situations.

What Does "Fair Housing" Mean?

The Fair Housing Act came about in 1968 as an offshoot of the Civil Rights Act. The new fair housing law enacted meaningful enforcement mechanisms and prohibited anyone from refusing to rent or sell a dwelling to anyone based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The law added disability and familial status as protected categories in 1988. Since your property investment portfolio includes Carlsbad properties, be aware that California's Fair Employment and Housing Act expands on the original seven protected categories to extend fair housing protections to cover:

  • Race
  • Color
  • National origin
  • Religion
  • Sex
  • Familial status (including children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians; pregnant women and people securing custody of children under 18)
  • Handicap (Disability)
  • Age
  • Ancestry
  • Citizenship
  • Gender Identity and Gender Expression
  • Genetic Information
  • Immigration Status
  • Marital Status
  • Primary Language
  • Sexual Orientation
  • Source of Income
  • Any other arbitrary basis (for example, Occupation or Veteran Status)

Diversity Rent to only Women SelectiveWhere Can You Be Selective?

Remember that you are always free to set criteria for tenants that don't run afoul of these categories. You are free to reject tenants for:

  • Poor credit
  • Insufficient income
  • Criminal history
  • Negative references.

You can also refuse to rent to pets (and by extension their owners) or prohibit smoking on your property.

Be very confident that your screening criteria focus on the needs of your business, a tenant's ability to pay the rent, and avoidance of trouble on any of your properties. If you are fair in your screening process and keep your criteria focused on the business side of things, you'll stay on the right side of the law.

Equal Housing Opportunity

Raintree Property Management Can Handle It!

Federal and state housing laws can seem a bit murky, and you might be worried about running afoul of the law even accidentally. Maybe you are unclear about your rights as a landlord—or aren't sure about how to advertise your property in the right way. Perhaps you aren't sure if any of your rental properties meet exemption criteria. If all of this has you worried or uncertain, get in touch with Raintree Property Management.

We are a local property management company well versed in California housing law. We can help you answer your questions, and we offer a wide range of services, including a multi-platform marketing program, tenant screening, and lease terms enforcement. You can rest easy knowing that we are doing things right and following the law. All that remains for you is to focus on the money that your investment is bringing in! If our services are something that you're looking for, then reach out to us by phone or find us online. We'll put our knowledge of fair housing law to work for your investment!

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