Does Fair Housing Law Apply to 'Shared Living Situations'? Or, the Trouble with Roommates

Abstract

In 2012, the Ninth Circuit held that to avoid a constitutional conflict with the right to freedom of association neither the federal Fair Housing Act nor California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act apply to persons seeking roommates or to other shared living situations. This article criticizes the opinion as poorly reasoned and overly broad and then offers a more targeted legislative solution to the problem.

Note: This is an abbreviated version of the article that appeared in the Journal of Affordable Housing and Community Development Law (Spring 2014).

Keywords: fair housing, housing law, housing policy, shared living, roommates