West Virginia Fair Housing Guide for Real Estate Exam Prep

West Virginia Fair Housing Guide

West Virginia fair housing law operates alongside federal law. The WV Human Rights Act (WV Code Chapter 5, Article 11A) provides the state framework, while the federal Fair Housing Act (1968) provides the national baseline. Both bodies of law are testable on the West Virginia real estate exam.

Federal Fair Housing Act Protected Classes

The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination based on seven classes:

1. Race
2. Color
3. National origin
4. Religion
5. Sex
6. Familial status (families with children under 18, pregnant women)
7. Handicap/disability

These seven classes apply in every state. Real estate licensees must not discriminate in the sale, rental, or financing of housing based on any of these characteristics.

West Virginia Human Rights Act

The West Virginia Human Rights Act adds additional protected classes at the state level:

• Ancestry
• Age
• Blindness (covered separately from general disability under WV law)
• Sex (interpreted broadly, potentially including gender expression in some contexts)

Note: West Virginia does not have an explicit statutory addition for sexual orientation or gender identity at the statewide level in the same manner as some other states. The exam may test on what WV law specifically includes versus what it does not — know the WV Human Rights Act protected classes from primary sources.

Prohibited Practices

West Virginia licensees are prohibited from engaging in any of the following:

Steering: Channeling prospective buyers or renters toward or away from neighborhoods based on protected class. Example: telling a minority buyer that a neighborhood "might not be comfortable" for them.

Blockbusting (panic selling): Inducing current homeowners to sell based on the representation that members of a protected class are moving into the neighborhood, with the implication that property values will decline.

Redlining: Refusing to provide lending, insurance, or real estate services in specific geographic areas based on the racial or ethnic composition of the neighborhood.

Discriminatory advertising: Using language in any marketing material — MLS, websites, yard signs, print ads — that indicates a preference, limitation, or discrimination based on protected class.

Key Exemptions

Narrow exemptions exist under federal law: - Owner-occupied buildings with 4 or fewer units (the "Mrs. Murphy" exemption) - Single-family homes sold or rented without a broker, without advertising, and without discriminatory intent - Religious organizations for housing operated for religious purposes - Private clubs for member-only housing

WV state law has its own exemption standards that may differ slightly. When a question involves an exemption, note whether it asks about federal or state law.

Exam Tips

The WV exam tests fair housing most frequently through scenario questions. You will read a fact pattern and identify which class was discriminated against, whether an exemption applies, or which specific practice (steering, blockbusting) occurred. Know the seven federal classes cold, then layer in the WV Human Rights Act additions.