LIEB BLOG

Legal Analysts

Wednesday, November 02, 2011

Can an advertisement describe the property's walkability?

At a recent course entitled "To be Green or not to be Green, that is the question...", an agent suggested that discussing walkability in a listing was a violation of the Fair Housing Act because it discriminates based upon disability.

While I did not believe this to be true as the term walkability is utilized in common parlance to discuss distance, I acknowledged its potential to offend and thereafter decided to check the Department of State's Administrative Hearing Decisions for such a licensing decision. Thereafter, I checked Westlaw for case law decisions on the topic. After an exhaustive search, I found nothing. Does this mean someone can't claim a violation? No. It just means no violation has been recorded concerning the term walkability in an advertisement for property.

As we always teach, opinions are not really relevant, only facts, laws, and prior decisions should dictate our behavior. Therefore, real estate agents are always directed to check prior licensing decisions by clicking here if they have a question about the propriety of their proposed actions.