Where you live impacts you and your family’s access to good jobs, high quality education, reliable transportation, healthy food, government services, healthcare and even personal safety. Further, you should be able to seek refuge in your home free from harassment. Housing discrimination interferes with your ability to find a home that meets your needs in a neighborhood that offers opportunity to you and your family. It also reinforces longstanding patterns of segregation that are at the core of American inequality.
GREATER WASHINGTON, D.C.
There are many things to consider when finding a home, discrimination shouldn’t be one of them.
The ERC is the only private fair housing organization dedicated to serving the entire greater Washington DC region and may be able to assist individuals in the area who believe they have experienced housing discrimination. We are also available to assist with preparing requests for reasonable accommodations and modifications, and with assisting you in filing an administrative complaint. If you believe you’ve experienced housing discrimination in the greater Washington, DC region, contact us.
- Equal Rights Center
- 820 First St NE, Suite LL160, Washington, DC 20002
- 202.234.3062
- info@equalrightscenter.org
The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, and familial status (presence of kids under 18 in a household). In addition, the greater Washington, DC region offers some of the most comprehensive fair housing protections in the country.
In Maryland, there are additional statewide protections for marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and source of income. In Virginia, elderliness (55+), sexual orientation, gender identity, source of income, and veteran status are protected.
Click here to see a complete listing of local protections by area.
In addition to our resources, you always have an independent right to file an administrative complaint on your own through the following agencies:
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- DC Office of Human Rights
- Fairfax County Office of Human Rights and Equity Programs
NATIONAL
The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, and familial status (presence of kids under 18 in a household).
NEWS/HIGHLIGHTS
People with disabilities deserve accessible housing, but making home accessible requires collaboration and compliance. The ERC has developed a series of resources designed to educate folks about the fair housing rights of people with disabilities, help housing providers comply with fair housing best practices, and empower people with disabilities to advocate for themselves. These include a toolkit about reasonable accommodations and modifications, FAQs targeted at housing providers, a template for third parties to use when verifying a person’s disability, a public service announcement about service animal fraud, and a one-pager explaining service and assistance animals under the FHA and ADA.
Equal Rights Center and Equity Residential Settle Litigation And Agree To Expand Accessible Housing
WASHINGTON, DC – January 5, 2016, In a settlement resolving a long-pending litigation, Equity Residential based in Chicago, Illinois, has reached agreement with the Equal Rights Center (ERC) – a national civil rights organization based in Washington, D.C. – with respect to accessible housing for people with disabilities in Equity Residential communities.
CIVIL RIGHTS TESTING
ERC FAIR HOUSING BLOGS
New tenant screening laws take effect in Maryland: Know your rights!
A new Maryland law limits when and how landlords can screen an applicant based on income and credit if that applicant uses a housing voucher.
Read New tenant screening laws take effect in Maryland: Know your rights!How can civil rights testing advance LGBTQ+ rights?
ERC civil rights testing both confirms the importance of non-discrimination laws for LGBTQ+ people and reveals the shortcomings of such laws.
Read How can civil rights testing advance LGBTQ+ rights?What is the state of LGBTQ+ fair housing rights?
HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity has stopped investigations of sexual orientation and gender identity cases.
Read What is the state of LGBTQ+ fair housing rights?HUD Proposal Endangers Transgender People Experiencing Homelessness
On April 28, 2026, HUD proposed a rule to eliminate anti-discrimination protections for transgender individuals at federally funded shelters.
Read HUD Proposal Endangers Transgender People Experiencing HomelessnessPUBLICATIONS
Read recent annual reports or browse practical fair housing guides by topic.