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"Fair Housing" is the right to equal opportunity in rental, sale, and |
Are there any exemptions to the law?
The Vermont housing discrimination law does not apply to the following situations:
- Houses with three or fewer apartments, but only if the owner or a member of the owner's immediate family lives in one of the apartments.
- Rental units which would be too small for the family desiring to live there, based on applicable occupancy standards.
- Rental units for the elderly which discriminate against families with children, if the housing is occupied only by people over 62 years of age, or if at least one person over the age of 55 resides in each rental unit and the housing complex either provides significant facilities and services or important housing opportunities for the elderly.
- Refusal to rent to a tenant under the age of 18.
- Religious preference given to tenants of the same religion as that of the religious association which provides or rents rooms for no profit.
(Important Note: Housing discrimination based on race may present an exception to the exemptions listed below. This race based exception exists because of Federal law in existence since soon after the US Civil War and it has been upheld in modern case law.
Simply stated-- there may be legal protection from housing discrimination based on race even in buildings occupied by an owner or member of the owners immediate family and irrespective of the number of units of housing in the building. Please contact the Fair Housing Project for more information.)
Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity