New York's Governor Adding Transgender Individuals As An Additional Protected Class In Housing

Readers of this space know that while professional apartment management must ensure we follow our federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) and its seven protected classes (race, national origin, color, religion, sex, familial status and disability), we must also make certain we know the state, county, city, and/or local laws applicable in the various jurisdictions in which we have apartment communities.  These seven federal protected classes can be (and are) supplemented by laws encompassing, for example, source of income, sexual orientation, marital status, and/or age (to name a few).

On a related note, it was just announced that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is planning to use an executive order to protect transgender people from discrimination in housing and employment.  It has been reported that Governor Cuomo is going to make the announcement at an Empire State Pride Agenda dinner in New York.