This handbook contains general information regarding landlord-tenant issues and housing discrimination. The information reflects federal laws and CA state laws as of January 2011.

The Fair Housing Act Design Manual: A Manual to Assist Designers and Builders in Meeting the Accessibility Requirements of The Fair Housing Act provides clear and helpful guidance about ways to design and construct housing which complies with the Fair Housing Act. The manual provides direct information about the accessibility requirements of the Act, which must be incorporated into the design, and construction of multifamily housing covered by the Act. It carries out two statutory responsibilities: (1) to provide clear statement of HUD's interpretation of the accessibility requirements of the Act so that readers may know what actions on their part will provide them with a "safe harbor"; and (2) to provide guidance in the form of recommendations which, although not binding meet the Department's obligation to provide technical assistance on alternative accessibility approaches which will comply with the Act, but may exceed its minimal requirements. The latter information allows housing providers to choose among alternative and also provides persons with disabilities with information on accessible design approaches. The Manual clarifies what are requirements under the Act and what are HUD's technical assistance recommendations. The portions describing the requirements are clearly differentiated from the technical assistance recommendations.

The Fair Housing Act was passed into law by Congress in 1968. Since that time, a number of other federal, state and local laws have been established to protect the rights of certain groups to fairly access housing. This book will serve as a resource to help attorneys understand the Fair Housing Act.

Federal, state, and local laws make it illegal to discriminate in the provision of housing based on a person's protected class. At the federal level, the Fair Housing Amendments Act (FHAA) prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability. In CA, the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) prohibits housing discrimination on the same basis as the federal law, but also makes it illegal to discriminate based on marital status, ancestry, sexual orientation and source of income. Several other laws touch on the issue of housing discrimination. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a federal law, prohibits discrimination in public accommodations based on disability and does not generally apply to individual apartments. However, the ADA does apply to areas of an apartment complex or housing development that are open to the public, such as a rental office. In CA, the Unruh Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination by all business establishments based upon race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, disability, marital status, ancestry, sexual orientation, source of income, age and other forms of arbitrary discrimination. The renting of houses and apartments is considered to be a public accommodation for purposes of Unruh and is therefore covered by the Act. -- from website.