Hawaii Fair Housing
Practice Questions & Answers (2026)
Fair housing is tested on every real estate exam in the country, but Hawaii candidates must know both federal and state-level protections. While Hawaii enforces the seven federal protected classes (race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability), the Hawaii Real Estate Branch also tests how these protections apply in Hawaii-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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Hawaii Fair Housing — Practice Questions & Answers
124 questions on Fair Housing from the Hawaii real estate question bank. First 10 are free — sign up to unlock all 124.
Q1. The Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 originally prohibited discrimination based on which protected classes?
Explanation
The original Fair Housing Act of 1968 prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, and national origin. Sex was added in 1974, and familial status and disability (handicap) were added in the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988.
Q2. A landlord refuses to rent to a family because they have two young children. This is most likely a violation of which protected class under the Fair Housing Act?
Explanation
Familial status is a protected class under the Fair Housing Act. It protects families with children under 18, pregnant women, and those in the process of adopting. Refusing to rent to families with children (with limited exceptions for qualifying senior housing) violates the Act.
Q3. Steering is best described as:
Explanation
Steering is the illegal practice of directing homebuyers or renters toward or away from certain neighborhoods based on their race, religion, national origin, or other protected characteristics.
Q4. Under the Fair Housing Act, a reasonable accommodation for a person with a disability means:
Explanation
The Fair Housing Act allows tenants with disabilities to make reasonable modifications to their unit at their own expense. The landlord may require the tenant to restore the unit to its original condition upon move-out.
Q5. The federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 prohibits discrimination in the sale or rental of housing based on all of the following EXCEPT:
Explanation
The original 1968 Fair Housing Act protects race, color, religion, national origin, and sex (sex added in 1974). Familial status and disability were added in 1988. Sexual orientation is not a federally protected class under the FHA, though some states and localities provide this protection.
Q6. Under the Fair Housing Act, 'steering' refers to:
Explanation
Steering is the illegal practice of directing homebuyers toward or away from certain neighborhoods based on their race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, or familial status.
Q7. Which illegal practice involves a lender refusing to make mortgage loans in a particular geographic area based on the racial composition of the neighborhood?
Explanation
Redlining is the illegal practice of denying or limiting financial services, including mortgages, to residents of certain areas based on their racial or ethnic composition.
Q8. A real estate agent who tells homeowners that minorities are moving into the neighborhood to induce them to sell their homes quickly at below-market prices is committing:
Explanation
Blockbusting (panic selling) is the illegal practice of inducing homeowners to sell by suggesting that the entry of a protected class group will lower property values.
Q9. Under the Fair Housing Act, which of the following housing is generally exempt?
Explanation
The 'Mrs. Murphy exemption' allows owner-occupied buildings with 4 or fewer units (where the owner lives in one unit) to be exempt from the Fair Housing Act, provided the owner does not use discriminatory advertising or a real estate agent.
Q10. Hawaii's state fair housing law provides protections beyond the federal Fair Housing Act. Hawaii adds which protected class not covered by federal law?
Explanation
Hawaii's fair housing law adds age as a protected class, in addition to the federally protected classes (race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, and familial status).
Q11. Under the Fair Housing Act, a seller refuses to sell to a family because they have children under age 18. This violates which protected class?
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