Pennsylvania Fair Housing
Practice Questions & Answers (2026)
Fair housing is tested on every real estate exam in the country, but Pennsylvania candidates must know both federal and state-level protections. While Pennsylvania enforces the seven federal protected classes (race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability), the Pennsylvania State Real Estate Commission also tests how these protections apply in Pennsylvania-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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Pennsylvania Fair Housing — Practice Questions & Answers
116 questions on Fair Housing from the Pennsylvania real estate question bank. First 10 are free — sign up to unlock all 116.
Q1. Which Pennsylvania law supplements the federal Fair Housing Act by adding additional protected classes?
Explanation
The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA) prohibits housing discrimination and adds additional protected classes to those in the federal Fair Housing Act, including ancestry and age (over 40 in employment contexts, with some housing protections as well).
Q2. Under the Fair Housing Act, a landlord who refuses to accept a reasonable accommodation request from a tenant with a disability is:
Explanation
The Fair Housing Act requires housing providers to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services when necessary for a person with a disability to have equal opportunity to use and enjoy the housing. Refusing a reasonable accommodation is a violation.
Q3. Redlining is the illegal practice of:
Explanation
Redlining is the illegal practice of denying or limiting financial services — such as mortgages, insurance, or loans — to specific geographic areas, particularly minority neighborhoods. It is prohibited by the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
Q4. A seller tells their agent, 'I only want to sell to a family of the same religion as mine.' The agent should:
Explanation
Religion is a federally protected class under the Fair Housing Act. An agent who accepts a listing with discriminatory conditions would be participating in a fair housing violation. The agent should decline the listing unless the seller agrees to sell without discrimination.
Q5. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination based on which protected classes?
Explanation
The federal Fair Housing Act (Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended) prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, and familial status. Many states and localities add additional protected classes.
Q6. Pennsylvania's Human Relations Act adds which protected class not covered by federal Fair Housing law?
Explanation
Pennsylvania's Human Relations Act adds age as a protected class in housing, in addition to the seven federal classes. Age discrimination in housing is prohibited under state law, providing broader protections than federal law.
Q7. Steering is defined as:
Explanation
Steering is the illegal practice of guiding prospective buyers or renters toward or away from certain neighborhoods based on the race, religion, national origin, or other protected characteristics of the buyer or the residents of those neighborhoods.
Q8. Blockbusting refers to:
Explanation
Blockbusting (also called panic selling) is the illegal practice of inducing owners to sell their properties by making representations about the entry of protected class members into the neighborhood, for the purpose of profit. It is prohibited under the Fair Housing Act.
Q9. Redlining is the practice of:
Explanation
Redlining is the illegal practice by which lenders, insurers, or real estate professionals refuse to provide services in certain neighborhoods based on race, ethnicity, or national origin. It was named after the practice of drawing red lines on maps to denote 'undesirable' areas.
Q10. Under the Fair Housing Act, which of the following is a permissible exemption from the prohibition on discrimination?
Explanation
The Fair Housing Act includes a limited exemption for private owners selling a single-family home without the services of a real estate broker and without discriminatory advertising. This 'Mrs. Murphy' type exemption is narrow and does not allow use of discriminatory statements.
Q11. A disabled tenant requests that a landlord allow them to install grab bars in the bathroom. The landlord must:
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