The FHA's "Mrs. Murphy" Exemption -- A 50 State Guide

As discussed in this space in past posts, our federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) contains a handful of exceptions, the most famous of which is the "Mrs. Murphy Exemption."  This provision in the law provides that a home is exempt from the FHA if the dwelling has four or fewer rental units and the owner lives in one of those units.  The exemption is based upon the hypothetical elderly widow, Mrs. Murphy, who would like to rent part of her home and who may desire to specifically pick out her tenants.

A frequent question we at the Fair Housing Defense blog hear is "I live in [insert name of your state here].  Does the Mrs. Murphy exemption apply?"  The general answer is "Yes" -- because the Mrs. Murphy exemption applies on a federal level to every state in the country.  However, the final answer is often more complicated because many states have their own fair housing laws that provide for more stringent protections than the "floor" set by the FHA.  When enacting their own