The 1866 CIVIL RIGHTS ACT provided that: 

“All citizens of the United States shall have the same rights, in every State and Territory, as is enjoyed by white  citizens thereof to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold and convey real and personal property.” 

On June 17, 1968, in the case of JONES v. MAYER, the United States Supreme Court held that the 1866 law  prohibits “all racial discrimination, private as well as public, in the sale or rental of property.” 

Thus, any individual, who feels he or she has been discriminated against, can immediately file a suit in Federal  Court. The court can stop the sale of a house, or rental of an apartment, to someone else or award damages and  court costs.  

The 1968 Supreme Court decision further held that the 1866 Act protects all individuals against the following: 1.Denial that housing is available for inspection, sale, or rent when it is really available.  2.Discrimination in the terms or conditions of sale or rental lease. 

1968 FAIR HOUSING LAW 

Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (the Federal Fair Housing Law), declared it a national policy to provide fair  housing throughout the United States. This law and subsequent amendment makes discrimination based on race,  color, religion, sex, or national origin illegal in connection with the sale or rental of most housing and any vacant  land offered for residential construction or use. The Fair Housing Law provides protection against the following  acts, if they are based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin: 

1. Refusal to sell or rent, to deal or negotiate with any person. 
2. Denial of a loan or creation of different terms or conditions for home loans by commercial lenders, such as banks, savings and loan associations or insurance companies.  
3. Discrimination, by advertising that housing is available only to persons of a certain race, color, religion, sex or  national origin.  
4. “Blockbusting” for profit i.e. persuading owners to sell or rent housing by telling them that minority groups are  moving into the neighborhood.  
5. Denial to anyone of the use of, or participation in, any real estate services such as brokers’ organizations,  multiple listing services, or other facilities related to the selling or renting of housing. 

NEW YORK STATE LAW 

New York law prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental or lease of housing accommodations on the bases of race,  color, creed, national origin, sex, disability, age, marital status, military status, domestic violence victim status, sexual orientation or gender identity by the owner, lessee, sublessee, or managing agent of housing  accommodations or by real estate brokers and salespersons.  

The law also prohibits discrimination in: 

1. The terms, conditions or privileges of the sale, rental or lease or in the furnishing of facilities or services in  connection with any housing accommodation; 
2. The printing or circulating of any statement or publication or the use of any form of application or publication for  the purchase, rental or lease of a housing accommodation.  

There are certain limited exceptions to New York State’s Human Rights Law: (1) the rental of one and two family  dwellings where the owners or their families reside in such dwellings, (2) the rental of rooms in housing  accommodations by owners or occupants where such persons or their families actually reside in such  accommodations or (3) the rental of all rooms in a housing accommodation to persons of the same sex.  

FAIR HOUSING AMENDMENTS ACT OF 1988 

This Act strengthened the enforcement of the 1968 Fair Housing Law. It also provided substantial additional  protection for disabled persons seeking housing, and limited restrictions on purchasers or renters on account of  familial status or age. Sellers or landlords who would decline to sell or rent to persons on account of handicap or  familial status are advised to consult an attorney beforehand.  

WESTCHESTER COUNTY HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION 

In 1999 the Westchester County Board of Legislators passed a County Human Rights law and created a  Human Rights Commission to enforce compliance and promote equal and fair opportunity in Westchester  County. In addition to the protected classes addressed in Federal and State law, the Westchester law also  prohibits discrimination by owners and real estate agents based upon an individual’s alienage, citizenship  status or source of income. The Westchester law also prohibits discrimination against victims of domestic  violence.