Retaliating against a person for complaining, testifying or assisting is itself unlawful, whether or not the underlying complaint succeeds

xp.fair_housing.prohibited_interference_coercion_intimidation_and_retaliation · v1.0.0

It is unlawful to coerce, intimidate, threaten or interfere with any person in the exercise or enjoyment of, or on account of having exercised or enjoyed, or on account of having aided or encouraged another person in the exercise or enjoyment of, any right granted or protected by the Fair Housing Act regulations. The conduct made unlawful includes threatening, intimidating or interfering with persons in their enjoyment of a dwelling because of a protected characteristic of those persons or of their visitors or associates; threatening an employee or agent with dismissal or an adverse employment action, or taking one, for helping a person seek housing; intimidating any person engaged in making others aware of their rights; retaliating against any person because they made a complaint, testified, assisted or participated in any manner in a proceeding under the Fair Housing Act; and retaliating against any person because they reported a discriminatory housing practice to a housing provider or other authority. The last is the one most often missed: an internal complaint to the manager, never filed anywhere, is protected activity, and the protection does not depend on the complaint being upheld.

Confidence

high

Effective from

1989-03-12

Last reviewed

2026-09-07