Fair Housing Act and Smokers

[Jaime O'Gorman]

I know that smokers are not considered a protected class, but I was wondering where I can find more information on this. Can anyone tell me if this is stated in the Fair Housing Act? I haven't been able to find this clause. Thanks!

[Nathan Gesner]

Also remember that you may be exempt from Fair Housing in some circumstances. Read 354-A:13 Exemptions

You don't need anything in writing from the state. If it is NOT a protected class then you can discriminate against them, period. This includes people with facial tattoos, dirty cars, smokers, people with pets, felons, people with bad credit, five friends, people with loud cars, people with no jobs, etc.

The reason we recommend you write your policies down is to avoid a discrimination complaint. For example, let's say you don't want smokers renting your property even if they smoke outside. A black, single mother with facial tattoos applies to rent the property. You say you won't approve her application because she smokes, she can claim you discriminated against her because of her skin color. How do you prove her wrong in a court of law? If you have a written, published policy, it's easy to show that you are declining the application for an objective, legal reason. If you don't have a written, published policy, the judge may agree that you appear to be discriminating against someone based on skin color.

If you use a printed application, you can easily create a cover sheet with your application policy. If you use an online application, there is typically a way to add the application policy on the web page.