Fair Housing Act Permits Disparate Impact Liability

For nearly 50 years, the Fair Housing Act has been a weapon available to individuals, community groups and governmental entitles seeking to combat housing discrimination. Among the targets of Fair Housing Act litigation have been landlords, co-op and condominium boards, local governments, and publishers of allegedly discriminatory advertisements. Until this past term, however, the United States Supreme Court had not resolved a basic question about the statute's meaning: Does the statute require a showing of discriminatory intent or discriminatory treatment, or can a plaintiff prevail by establishing the discriminatory effect or disparate impact of the defendant's action, even without a showing of discriminatory treatment? In Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc, the Court, over the objection of four dissenting justices, held that proof of discriminatory intent or treatment was not essential to a Fair Housing Act claim.