Alabama Fair Housing
Practice Questions & Answers (2026)
Fair housing is tested on every real estate exam in the country, but Alabama candidates must know both federal and state-level protections. While Alabama enforces the seven federal protected classes (race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability), the Alabama Real Estate Commission (AREC) also tests how these protections apply in Alabama-specific rental, sales, and advertising scenarios. Steering, blockbusting, redlining, and discriminatory advertising are all tested — and candidates who think they know fair housing cold often miss the state-specific extensions or the nuanced application scenarios. Review every question here carefully.
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Alabama Fair Housing — Practice Questions & Answers
98 questions on Fair Housing from the Alabama real estate question bank. First 10 are free — sign up to unlock all 98.
Q1. Alabama's fair housing laws prohibit discrimination based on which federal protected classes plus additional state protections?
Explanation
Alabama follows the federal Fair Housing Act's seven protected classes: race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability. Alabama does not have a broader state fair housing law that adds protected classes beyond the federal standard.
Q2. Steering — directing buyers toward or away from neighborhoods based on protected class characteristics — is:
Explanation
Steering is illegal under the federal Fair Housing Act and is prohibited in Alabama. Steering based on race, religion, national origin, sex, disability, familial status, or color violates fair housing laws regardless of whether the buyer requests it.
Q3. Blockbusting in Alabama is the illegal practice of:
Explanation
Blockbusting (panic selling) is the illegal practice of inducing homeowners to sell their properties by suggesting that people of a protected class are moving into the neighborhood, which will supposedly cause property values to decline.
Q4. Under the Fair Housing Act, which of the following is a protected class?
Explanation
Familial status is one of the seven federal protected classes under the Fair Housing Act. Sexual orientation, source of income, and marital status are not federal protected classes (though some states add these protections).
Q5. Which of the following is an example of redlining?
Explanation
Redlining is the illegal practice of refusing to provide financial services (loans, insurance) in certain geographic areas based on the racial or ethnic composition of those neighborhoods.
Q6. A landlord in Alabama may legally refuse to rent to a person with a disability if:
Explanation
Landlords may apply neutral, non-discriminatory standards to all applicants — including financial qualifications. A person with a disability who cannot meet the legitimate financial requirements may be denied, just like any other applicant who fails to qualify.
Q7. The Fair Housing Act exempts owner-occupied buildings with how many or fewer units from certain provisions?
Explanation
The Mrs. Murphy exemption allows owner-occupied buildings with 4 or fewer units to be exempt from certain Fair Housing Act provisions, provided the owner does not use discriminatory advertising.
Q8. In Alabama, a landlord may legally ask which of the following questions of a rental applicant?
Explanation
A landlord may ask about income to verify the applicant can afford the rent. Asking about marital status, children (familial status), or national origin could indicate discriminatory intent and violates fair housing laws.
Q9. Under the Fair Housing Act, a landlord must allow a tenant with a disability to make reasonable modifications to a rental unit. Who typically pays for these modifications?
Explanation
The tenant pays for reasonable modifications to their unit. However, the landlord may require the tenant to restore the unit to its original condition at the end of the tenancy.
Q10. An Alabama real estate ad that says 'ideal for empty nesters' could be considered discriminatory because it:
Explanation
'Empty nesters' implies the property is marketed to people without children, which could constitute discrimination based on familial status. Advertising must not express preferences for or against any protected class.
Q11. Which federal agency enforces the Fair Housing Act in Alabama?
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