Housing
Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended (Fair Housing Act), state law (Texas Fair Housing Act), and city ordinance (Human Relations Ordinance) prohibit discrimination in housing based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, and familial status. The city’s Human Relations Ordinance also prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, transgender status, gender identity, and gender expression.
These laws cover virtually all housing — private homes, apartment complexes, and condominium developments — and cover nearly all housing-related transactions, such as renting, selling, and providing mortgage loans.
For more information about the city’s anti-discrimination ordinance or to report housing discrimination, call 817-392-7525.
Employment
Numerous federal laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, state law (Texas Labor Code), and the city’s Human Relations Ordinance, protect employees from discrimination in employment based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age (40 years or older), and disability. The city’s Human Relations Ordinance also prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, transgender status, gender identity, and gender expression. Employers cannot base hiring, firing, promotion, or transfer decisions on any protected basis.
The City of Fort Worth is authorized by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as a Fair Employment Practice Agency to investigate fair employment complaints.
Public Accommodation
Several federal laws, including Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as well as Fort Worth’s Human Relations Ordinance, prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, and age in the services, facilities, or privileges offered to the general public by a place of public accommodation. The city’s Human Relations Ordinance also prohibits discrimination in public accommodations based on sexual orientation, transgender status, gender identity, and gender expression.
Housing & Rental Information
Housing/Shelter Assistance
Do you need assistance securing housing? Do you need assistance paying your rent?
Resources available to you:
Bad Credit or Criminal Background
Do you have a criminal background or bad credit that is preventing you from securing housing?
What you need to know:
Some housing providers charge a non-refundable fee to pay for the costs or screening of your rental application. The cost to submit a rental application with a housing provider ranges between $25 - $100. Texas state law requires that at the time an applicant is provided with a rental application, the housing provider should provide a printed notices of the landlord’s tenant selection criteria, and the grounds for which the application may be denied, including: criminal history, previous rental history, and/or current income and credit history. Note that higher deposits are often required by properties for people with bad credit or criminal backgrounds.
Resources available to you:
Renter’s Rights, Fair Housing Complaints or Legal Assistance
Do you have questions about renter’s rights? Do you believe you have been discriminated against? Do you need legal assistance to seek remedies against your landlord under the law?
Resources available to you:
- For housing discrimination complaints, contact the Civil Rights Office of the Department of Human Resources at (817) 392-7525 or click to file a complaint.
Regular Repairs
Are you having trouble getting repairs to your rental unit?
It is your landlord’s duty to repair or remedy most conditions in your rental unit that affect your health and safety, unless you cause damage through abnormal use.
What you need to know:
- Review your lease and addendums, and familiarize yourself with your housing provider’s repair policy. Texas law 1requires landlords to make diligent efforts to repair problems about which they have been notified and that materially affect the physical health and safety of an ordinary tenant.
- Tenants receiving Housing Choice Vouchers, or residing in a government owned or subsidized housing have additional rights concerning repairs, such as the ability to request inspection of their unit.
- If you are having problems obtaining repairs, you should follow the following steps in order use remedies outlined under state law:
- Provide notice to the person to whom you pay rent. Best practice should be the provision of a dated notice, in writing (keeping a copy for yourself as proof), preferably sent by certified mail.
- Pay your rent! The landlord is not obligated to make repairs unless you are current on your rent.
- Provide reasonable time to make the repairs. Reasonableness depends on the circumstances, but typically seven days is considered reasonable.
- If the landlord has had reasonable time to make the repair and has not, contact the City of Fort Worth’s Code Compliance Department (“Code”). Code can inspect and determine if the condition violates local ordinances. Obtain the name of the inspector and any written reports.
- If the landlord has clearly had a reasonable amount of time to repair the condition, you may be able to 1) terminate the lease and move out; 2) have the problem repaired yourself and deduct from your rent; and/or 3) sue the landlord for failing to repair.
Resource available to you:
Repairs for Major Damage
Is your apartment uninhabitable due to major damage?
What you need to know:
As long as you or your guests were not responsible for the damage, and the premises are essentially uninhabitable, you (or your landlord) may terminate the lease at any time prior to the completion of the repairs by providing written notice. You will be entitled to a prorated refund of any rent paid in advance, and your security deposit, unless the landlord has reason to deduct an amount from the deposit, such as for damages you caused to the premise or outstanding rent. Housing providers have 30 days to give an accounting of deposits, including the itemization of lawful deductions.
Alternatively, you may be entitled to a reduction in rent proportionate to the extent the premises are unusable (unless the lease states otherwise). If you cannot reach an agreement with your landlord regarding a rent reduction, you can file a suit seeking rent reduction in either County Court or District Court.
Resources available to you: