Fair Housing Statement
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of United States policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the nation. We encourage and support an affirmative advertising and marketing program in which there are no barriers to obtaining housing because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.
Federal law — the Fair Housing Act
The federal Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 3601–3619) makes it unlawful to discriminate in the sale, rental, financing, or advertising of housing because of:
- Race
- Color
- National origin
- Religion
- Sex — which the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development interprets to include sexual orientation and gender identity
- Familial status — including families with children under 18 and pregnant persons
- Disability
Section 804(c) of the Act also prohibits publishing any advertisement or statement about a dwelling that indicates a preference, limitation, or discrimination based on a protected characteristic. That prohibition applies to this website, to our listing descriptions, to our social media, and to our video content.
Texas — the Texas Fair Housing Act
The Texas Fair Housing Act (Tex. Prop. Code Ch. 301) prohibits housing discrimination on the same bases as federal law: race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, and disability. It is enforced by the Civil Rights Division of the Texas Workforce Commission.
Montana — the Montana Human Rights Act
Montana law (Mont. Code Ann. § 49-2-305) is broader than federal law. It prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of:
- Sex
- Marital status
- Race
- Creed
- Religion
- Color
- Age
- Familial status
- Physical or mental disability
- National origin
Marital status, creed, and age are protected in Montana even though they are not protected characteristics under the federal Fair Housing Act. Our Montana marketing, listing copy, and client communications are held to this broader standard. Certain limited exemptions apply under Montana law, including for qualifying housing for older persons.
Commercial property
The Fair Housing Act applies to dwellings. Much of our Texas practice involves commercial, retail, restaurant, industrial, and investment property, which falls outside the Act's definition of a dwelling. That does not mean discrimination is permitted. Commercial real estate transactions remain subject to other civil rights laws — including 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981 and 1982, which protect the right to make and enforce contracts and to purchase and lease real property free of racial discrimination — and to state anti-discrimination law. Commercial properties open to the public are also subject to Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act. We apply the same non-discriminatory standard to every client and every property type.
Our commitment as a REALTOR®
As a member of the National Association of REALTORS®, we are bound by Article 10 of the REALTOR® Code of Ethics, which prohibits denying equal professional services and prohibits discriminatory practices in our real estate business, employment practices, and marketing.
In practice, this means:
- We provide the same information, service, and level of effort to every client and prospect.
- We do not steer clients toward or away from neighborhoods, submarkets, or buildings based on a protected characteristic, and we do not answer questions about the "type of people" in an area. We provide objective data and point clients to public sources so they can draw their own conclusions.
- We do not accept instructions from any seller, landlord, or owner to limit who may see, buy, or lease a property based on a protected characteristic.
- Our advertising describes the property, not the people we imagine living or working in it.
- We accommodate reasonable requests related to disability, including alternative formats and communication methods.
Reporting discrimination
If you believe you have experienced housing discrimination, you may file a complaint at no cost:
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development — 1-800-669-9777 (TTY 1-800-877-8339) — hud.gov/fair-housing
- Texas Workforce Commission, Civil Rights Division — 1-888-452-4778 — twc.texas.gov
- Montana Human Rights Bureau, Department of Labor & Industry — 1-800-542-0807 — erd.dli.mt.gov/human-rights
You may also raise a concern with us directly at privacy@priscillaking.com, or with the applicable supervising broker: Mallach and Company for Texas matters, or Joy Vance at The Agency Bozeman | Big Sky for Montana matters.
Equal Housing Opportunity
