An Illinois broker answers to two fair housing laws at the same time. The federal Fair Housing Act, found at 42 U.S.C. 3601 and the sections after it, names 7 protected grounds on HUD's own overview page. Article 3 of the Illinois Human Rights Act, 775 ILCS 5/3-101 and following, lists 15 grounds of "unlawful discrimination" and then adds 4 more that apply to real estate transactions. Both laws reach the licensee directly, and Illinois reaches an unlicensed person who brokers a deal as well.

This guide reads those statutes and the license law that sits beside them, section by section, so a new licensee knows what the text says before the first listing appointment. It is the legal backdrop to the choice described in how to choose your first brokerage, because every office you interview with works under the same two laws. It explains what the rules say. It is not legal advice, and the Illinois Department of Human Rights, HUD, IDFPR or an attorney confirms how a rule applies to a specific file.

Two Laws, One Licensee: Who Is Covered and On What Grounds

Start with the federal side, because it is the shorter list. Section 3604 of Title 42 makes it unlawful to refuse to sell or rent, to refuse to negotiate, or otherwise to make a dwelling unavailable because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status or national origin. It makes the same list apply to the terms, conditions and privileges of a sale or rental and to services and facilities connected with it. Handicap has its own paragraph in the same section. HUD's overview page for the Act lists the 7 grounds as race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status and disability. The statute itself uses the older word "handicap" for that ground.

The federal Act does not stop at sellers and landlords. Section 3605 covers anyone whose business includes engaging in residential real estate-related transactions, and the statute defines that phrase to include the selling, brokering or appraising of residential real property along with making loans to buy or repair a dwelling. Section 3606 adds something specific to the brokerage trade. It makes it unlawful to deny a person access to, or membership or participation in, a multiple-listing service, a real estate brokers' organization or any similar service relating to the business of selling or renting dwellings, or to discriminate in the terms of that access, on the same grounds. For a new agent the practical meaning is simple. The duty attaches to what a broker does for a living, and it includes the services a broker uses to do it.

Now the Illinois side. Section 3-102 applies to "an owner or any other person, or a real estate broker or salesman." The definition in Section 3-101(D) is the part a new licensee should read twice. A "real estate broker or salesman" is a person "whether licensed or not" who, for or with the expectation of receiving consideration, lists, sells, purchases, exchanges, rents or leases real property, or negotiates or attempts to negotiate any of those activities, or who holds oneself out as engaged in them. An unlicensed person who negotiates a sale for a fee is inside that definition. So is a licensee. The statute draws no line between them.

The Illinois grounds come in two layers. The first is the defined term "unlawful discrimination" in Section 1-103, which means discrimination against a person because of actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, marital status, order of protection status, disability, military status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, reproductive health decisions, or unfavorable discharge from military service. That is 15 grounds. The second layer is the 4 that Section 3-102 names in addition: familial status, immigration status, source of income and arrest record. Two definitions are worth knowing before you advertise or screen anyone. "Age" in the Act means the chronological age of a person who is at least 40 years old, outside the training and apprenticeship context. "Source of income" means the lawful manner by which an individual supports himself or herself and his or her dependents.

Familial status is defined closely alike in both laws. Both define it as one or more individuals who have not reached the age of 18 being domiciled with a parent or person having legal custody, or with that person's designee holding written permission. Both extend the protection to a person who is pregnant or is in the process of securing legal custody of a minor. The practical result is that a listing, a showing or a screening question cannot treat a household differently because a child lives in it or is expected in it.

One more definition belongs in this first section, because it sets how far the Illinois Act travels. Section 3-101(B) says a "real estate transaction" includes the sale, exchange, rental or lease of real property and any act that otherwise makes such a transaction available or alters a person's rights to real property. It also includes the brokering or appraising of residential real property and the making or purchasing of loans for buying, building or repairing a dwelling. A showing, a listing conversation, a text reply and an open house all sit on the "makes available" side of the line.

What a Broker Can Get Wrong: The Prohibited Acts, Line by Line

Section 3-102 of the Illinois Act reads like a checklist of a broker's workday, and it helps to take it one lettered paragraph at a time. Each paragraph is a separate civil rights violation.

• Paragraph (A), transactions: refusing to engage in a real estate transaction, denying real property, or discriminating in making a transaction available.
• Paragraph (B), terms: altering the terms, conditions or privileges of a transaction or the facilities and services that come with it.
• Paragraph (C), offers: refusing to receive, or failing to transmit, a bona fide offer from a person.
• Paragraph (D), negotiation: refusing to negotiate with a person.
• Paragraph (E), representations: telling a person that property is not available for inspection, sale, rental or lease when it is, failing to bring a listing to the person's attention, or refusing to let the person inspect.
• Paragraph (F), publication: making, printing, circulating, posting, mailing or publishing any notice, statement, advertisement or sign, or using an application form, or making a record or inquiry, that indicates a preference, limitation or discrimination on a protected ground.
• Paragraph (G), listings: offering, soliciting, accepting, using or retaining a listing with knowledge that discrimination is intended.
• Paragraph (H), criteria: using criteria or methods that have the effect of subjecting individuals to discrimination, unless they are necessary to achieve a substantial, legitimate, non-discriminatory interest that no less discriminatory practice could serve.

Three of these are worth slowing down on. Paragraph (C) means a broker who fails to transmit a bona fide offer because of a protected ground has committed a violation. Paragraph (E) includes the quiet version: failing to bring a listing to someone's attention. And paragraph (G) reaches the listing agreement itself. A seller who tells a broker to screen out a group is asking for a listing the broker may not accept, use or retain with that knowledge.

Here is a plain illustration, built from the statutory text and not from any real file. A seller asks the broker to put a line in the listing remarks saying the home is "not for children." That sentence is a notice or statement that indicates a limitation based on familial status. Paragraph (F) is aimed at exactly that. The federal rule is as direct. 24 CFR 100.75 makes it unlawful to publish any notice, statement or advertisement for the sale or rental of a dwelling that indicates a preference, limitation or discrimination on the federal grounds. It says the rule covers written and oral statements and names flyers, brochures, signs, banners, posters and billboards, and it lists using words, phrases, photographs, illustrations or symbols that convey a dwelling is available or not available to a particular group. The same section names selecting media or locations for advertising that deny a segment of the market information about housing opportunities. A broker's marketing plan is therefore inside the rule, and so is a casual remark to a prospective seller about the kind of buyer they would prefer.

Blockbusting, covenants and interference

Three older provisions still sit in the text. Section 3-103 of the Illinois Act is the blockbusting section. It is a civil rights violation to solicit a listing or sale on the ground of loss of value due to the present or prospective entry into the vicinity of a person or persons of a protected group, to distribute material designed to induce an owner to sell because of a change in the makeup of the residents nearby, or to intentionally create alarm among residents with a communication designed to induce a sale for that reason. The federal Act has its own version in Section 3604(e), which applies to a person who acts for profit to induce a sale or rental by representations about the entry or prospective entry of a person or persons of a particular group into the neighborhood.

Section 3-105 deals with restrictive covenants. Any provision in an oral agreement or written instrument relating to real property that forbids or restricts conveyance, encumbrance, occupancy or lease on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin is void, and so is any condition or restriction that directly or indirectly limits use or occupancy on those grounds. The section carries a carve-out for religious property held and used by a religious institution or organization for religious or charitable purposes. It also makes it a civil rights violation to insert a void provision in a written instrument or to honor or attempt to honor one in the chain of title. That last clause matters to a broker who finds old language in the chain of title. The statute names two acts, inserting a void provision and honoring one.

Section 3-105.1 is the interference section. It makes it a civil rights violation to coerce, intimidate, threaten or interfere with any person in exercising a right granted by Article 3, or on account of having exercised it, or on account of having aided or encouraged someone else to. Federal law has the matching provision at 42 U.S.C. 3617. A broker who responds to a complaint by threatening the person who made it has created a second problem on top of the first.

Disability duties that reach the transaction

Section 3-102.1 carries the Illinois disability rules, and it follows the structure of the federal text at Section 3604(f). It is a civil rights violation to refuse to sell or rent, or to otherwise deny a dwelling, because of a disability of the buyer or renter, of a person residing or intending to reside in the dwelling, or of any person associated with the buyer or renter. It also covers refusing to permit reasonable modifications of existing premises at the expense of the person with a disability, and refusing to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services when they may be necessary for equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling. For a rental, the statute lets a landlord condition a modification on the renter agreeing to restore the interior, reasonable wear and tear excepted, and it bars raising a customary security deposit for a person with a disability.

The section also reaches design and construction. For covered multifamily dwellings first occupied after March 13, 1991, the common areas must be readily accessible, the doors wide enough for a wheelchair, and each unit must have an accessible route, reachable controls, reinforced bathroom walls for later grab bars, and usable kitchens and bathrooms. Section 3-101(H) defines "covered multifamily dwellings" as buildings of 4 or more units with one or more elevators, and the ground floor units in other buildings of 4 or more units. Section 3-102.1(K) also says nothing in the section requires a dwelling be made available to someone whose tenancy would be a direct threat to the health or safety of others or would result in substantial physical damage to others' property. Section 3-104.1 adds a separate protection for a blind or hearing-impaired person, or a person with a physical disability, who has a guide, hearing or support dog. It bars refusing to sell or rent because of the dog and bars an extra charge for it, other than for actual damage done to the premises.

The exemptions, and what changes when a broker is involved

Section 3-106 lists exemptions from Section 3-102, and a broker should read it for its limits. The private sale exemption in paragraph (A) applies only if the owner has no beneficial interest in more than 3 single family homes at the time of the sale, the owner or a member of the owner's family was the last current resident, the home is sold "without the use in any manner of the sales or rental facilities or services of any real estate broker or salesman," and no discriminatory advertisement or written notice is published. The federal exemption in 42 U.S.C. 3603(b)(1) is built the same way, with a cap of three single-family houses and the same condition that the sale proceed without a real estate broker's facilities or services. Once a broker is hired, that exemption is gone for the sale.

Two other exemptions turn on an owner living on site. Paragraph (B) covers renting a housing accommodation in a building with no more than 4 families living independently, if the owner resides in one of them. Paragraph (C) covers renting a room or rooms in a private home where the owner or a member of the owner's family resides. Each of the three says in plain words that it does not apply to paragraph (F) of Section 3-102, the publication paragraph. In other words, even an exempt owner may not publish a discriminatory advertisement. Paragraph (F) stays in force for all three.

The remaining paragraphs are narrower. Paragraph (D) preserves reasonable local, State or federal restrictions on the maximum number of occupants of a dwelling. Paragraph (I) removes the familial status provisions for "housing for older persons," defined as housing provided under a State or federal program the Department determines is designed for elderly persons, housing intended for and solely occupied by persons 62 or older, or housing intended and operated for occupancy by persons 55 or older where at least 80 percent of occupied units have at least one occupant 55 or older, the community publishes and adheres to its policies, and it complies with the Department's verification rules. Paragraph (K) allows an inquiry into or use of an arrest record if the inquiry or use is otherwise authorized by State or federal law. Federal law has its own list in Sections 3603 and 3607, including the same 62 and 55 categories.

What Follows a Complaint: Agencies, Clocks and Consequences

A fair housing complaint against a broker can move on three tracks at once, and each has its own clock. The statutes set them out in plain terms.

The first track is the Illinois Department of Human Rights. Under Section 7B-102, a charge in writing, under oath or affirmation, may be filed within one year after the date the civil rights violation allegedly was committed or terminated. The Department serves the respondent within 10 days. The respondent may be required to respond within 30 days, and allegations not denied in that window may be deemed admitted. The Department is directed to complete its investigation within 100 days of the filing, unless that is impracticable, and failing to meet the 100 days does not strip it of jurisdiction.

If the Commission finds a civil rights violation, Section 8B-104 lists the relief it can order. That includes a cease and desist order, actual damages, attorney fees and costs, a compliance report, posted notices and measures to make the complainant whole. It also includes a civil penalty per violation to vindicate the public interest, and the section sets 3 tiers. The ceiling is 16,000 dollars if the respondent has not been adjudged to have committed another violation under Article 3. It is 42,500 dollars if the respondent has been adjudged to have committed one other violation in the 5-year period ending on the filing date of the charge. It is 70,000 dollars for 2 or more violations in the 7-year period ending on that date. A separate penalty may be imposed for each specific act and for each aggrieved party.

The second track is federal. Under 42 U.S.C. 3610, an aggrieved person may file a complaint with HUD within one year after the alleged practice occurred or ended. Under Section 3613, a civil action in court may be brought within 2 years after the occurrence or termination of the practice. The court may award actual and punitive damages, injunctive relief, and a reasonable attorney's fee and costs to the prevailing party.

The third track is the license itself. The Real Estate License Act of 2000 lists the causes for discipline in Section 20-20(a). Two of them speak directly to this subject. Paragraph (30) is influencing or attempting to influence, by any words or acts, a prospective seller, purchaser, occupant, landlord or tenant in connection with viewing, buying or leasing real estate so as to promote the continuance of racially and religiously segregated housing, or so as to retard, obstruct or discourage racially integrated housing on any street, block, neighborhood or community. Paragraph (31) is engaging in any act that violates any provision of Article 3 of the Illinois Human Rights Act, "whether or not a complaint has been filed with or adjudicated by the Human Rights Commission." The Department, which the License Act defines as IDFPR, may refuse to issue or renew a license, place it on probation, suspend or revoke it, reprimand the licensee or take other action, and may impose a fine not to exceed 25,000 dollars for each violation.

Read paragraph (31) again, because it changes the order of events. License discipline does not wait for the Human Rights Commission. The statute makes the underlying act a ground for discipline whether or not a complaint was filed or adjudicated. A licensee can therefore face a license case on a track of its own, because the License Act lists the violation as a ground for discipline. The advertising rules in the same Act matter here too, and they are covered in Illinois real estate advertising rules for brokers.

The Bottom Line

The two laws overlap on the core. A broker may not refuse, misrepresent availability, advertise a preference or alter terms because of a protected ground under either law, and Illinois names 19 grounds across Sections 1-103 and 3-102 against 7 federal ones. Illinois also sweeps in any person who brokers a deal for pay, licensed or not. The exemptions are narrow, they fall away when a broker is used, and none of them excuses a discriminatory advertisement. The enforcement clocks are one year at the Illinois Department of Human Rights, one year at HUD and 2 years in federal court, and the License Act lets IDFPR act on the conduct itself.

For a new agent the working rule is to describe the property, not the person who might buy it, and to put the same facts in front of every person who asks. When a question is truly unclear, it goes to the broker, the Department of Human Rights, HUD or an attorney, not to a guess. Then use how to choose your first brokerage to compare the other things that differ from one office to the next. The full set of Illinois licensing guides is in the Illinois real estate guide. Gambino Realtors has worked in the Rockford area since 1923.

The statutes answer more than they first appear to. Here are six specific questions, each answered from the text.

Frequently Asked Questions