Did you know April is National Fair Housing Month? This month serves as a reminder and a celebration of the Fair Housing Act, which protects buyers and renters in housing transactions from discrimination of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, familial status, disability, and more. Lyndon B. Johnson approved the Fair Housing Act of 1968 which was a part of the bigger Civil Rights Act shortly after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. This month, Back At You celebrates and recognizes the anniversary of the passing of the Fair Housing Act and recommits to the goal of eliminating housing discrimination and create equal opportunity in every neighborhood.
Of course, fair housing laws apply to all kinds of real estate marketing including newspapers, magazines, postcards, etc… but lately, online & social media platforms seem to be a frequent space for compliance infringements. Social media marketing has become an integral part of promoting listings and marketing a real estate agent’s business. Now, more than ever, it is imperative that real estate professionals are compliant with fair housing laws while promoting their services. Although most would consider themselves compliant to fair housing laws, seemingly innocent captions describing a condo as “perfect for a bachelor” are deemed discriminatory against anyone who isn’t a single male. For example, if you described a smaller home as “perfect for empty nesters” that would imply catering to a specific familial status (which is also against the law). In fact, the National Fair Housing Alliance, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Communication Workers of America filed litigation against Facebook a few years ago saying the platform needed to build stronger protections against harmful behavior via their advertising platform.
So how do real estate professionals ensure that they are advertising their services without unintentionally violating fair housing laws? Facebook already removed thousands of categories from ad targeting related to protected classes such as race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and religion, but they took a step last December to better protect users on social media from discrimination. In order to run an ad, businesses are required to specify a “Special Ad Category” and use the limited audience criteria available for these Special Ad Category campaigns. For real estate professionals, there is a “Housing” category that has rules in place as a result of the settlement agreement with the National Fair Housing Alliance. This “Housing” ad category automatically requires a 15-mile minimum radius when it comes to location targeting. Targeting specific neighborhoods will no longer be possible to target due to the possibility of discrimination based off of narrow locations, however, targeting WILL still be available by the aforementioned minimum 15-miles as well as city name, designated market area, and state.
Despite the exciting technology that social media offers, Back At You understands that fair housing laws still stand, and discrimination in housing-related advertising is against the law. Fashioning appropriate remedies for today’s technology as it impacts housing laws is a priority for Back At You.
We are proud to say that our ad platform helps you remain 100% fair housing compliant.
Back At You sees the importance of being mindful of what is written and read online – not just to avoid violations against the Fair Housing Act – but also to celebrate and foster a society where all are equal and welcome.
Did you know that Back At You is the only social media company that is backed by the National Association of REALTORS®’ REALTOR Benefits® Program, and is a badged Facebook Marketing Partner with ad Technology and FBX specialties? Facebook Marketing Partners are painstakingly vetted not only for capability and expertise but also for a solid track record of success. At the end of the day, one of the best ways for agents to stay top of mind on social media is by building an organic audience by consistently publishing quality content. Back At You can automate that for you while ALSO keeping you compliant with fair housing laws. If you’re not using our full-service system yet, schedule a call today!