The Fair Housing Act reaches Puerto Rico and every territory and possession, because its definition of State says so

xp.fair_housing.the_act_reaches_puerto_rico_and_every_territory_and_possession · v1.0.0

The Fair Housing Act defines 'State' to mean any of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any of the territories and possessions of the United States. That single definition settles a question a compliance professional otherwise has to research jurisdiction by jurisdiction: the Act and its implementing regulations at 24 CFR part 100 apply in Puerto Rico, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands exactly as they apply in a State. Every federal fair housing rule in this corpus -- the itemised rental prohibitions, harassment and third-party liability, discriminatory effect, interference and retaliation, the design and construction requirements, and the housing-for-older-persons exemption -- therefore reaches a property in those jurisdictions. What this corpus does NOT hold is a separate territorial fair housing statute for any of the five. That absence is recorded rather than inferred: no territorial act was located in this pass, and a territory whose own law adds protected classes would sit on top of this federal floor, not underneath it.

Confidence

high

Effective from

1968-04-11

Last reviewed

2026-09-07