National Association of Gay and Lesbian Realtors proposal accepted by National Association of Realtors
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| Jeff Updike |
The board of directors of the National Association of Realtors has voted a change to the association’s code of ethics to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.
The vote came during NAR’s national meeting in Washington, D.C., on May 15.
The National Association of Gay and Lesbian Real Estate Professionals proposed the policy to NAR.
Jeff Berger is NAGLREP’s founder and CEO. The organization has 30 chapters in 21 states. Bob McCranie and Barbara Stone are the Dallas chapter leaders.
"It’s an exciting time to be in real estate and see our community be recognized by NAR," McCranie said.
Changes to NAR’s code of ethics must come through a state realtor’s association, Berger said. Eric Kodner, a NAGLREP board member, brought the proposal to NAR on behalf of the Wisconsin Board of Realtors.
Berger said there were a number of examples of discrimination based on sexual orientation that prompted the change.
"We believe it was widespread but pushed under the rug," Berger said. "It was happening all over the country."
McCranie said that discrimination is more subtle now than it was years ago, but it still goes on.
Berger mentioned one homeowner in Nashville who said, "I’m not selling to queers."
Another story he told was reported in Dallas Voice on May 8, 2008, about a Keller Williams agent in the Dallas City Center office on Lower Greenville Avenue.
That Realtor told a potential client with a property to sell, "I would not assist a person to live in a gay area. Licensed agents are accountable to help clients, care for their needs, not assist a harmful lifestyle."
That agent’s license is now inactive, according to NAR board member Jeff Updike of Re/Max Urban in Downtown Dallas.
Updike said that the proposal passed on a general consent vote at the board meeting without discussion. He didn’t believe there was much underlying opposition to the measure.
The city of Dallas already prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation in housing. Someone who violates that could be subject to a fine up to $500.
He said that when someone joins NAR, they agree to a certain code of ethics. A Realtor who is brought up on an ethics violation could be mandated to do additional training within a certain period of time or could lose their Realtor designation and have their membership revoked.
Updike said he didn’t think this would have a big effect on how most people do business.
"But people forget that this works both ways," he said.
When he works with LGBT clients, they will sometimes ask him where the gay neighborhoods are. He said that under the amended code of ethics, he really could no longer answer that question.
The amended code of ethics does not affect state licensing or local law. However, a proposal to amend the Fair Housing Law would prohibit discrimination nationally and affect all statewide and local agencies.
Rep. John Conyers met with representatives from NAGLREP and is co-sponsor of the Fair and Inclusive Housing Rights Act of 2010. This would amend the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in housing sales and rentals, residential real estate-related transactions and brokerage services.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition May 28, 2010.
Thank you Dallas Voice for covering this historic change. A protected class had not been added to the NAR Code of Ethics since the 1970’s, and it is the first time NAR has recognized in their code a protected class before the federal government has. See the video of the historic vote here https://www.naglrep.com/narcodeofethicssexualorientation.html NAGLREP Directors will meet Congressman John Conyers and his legal staff again June 2nd to further discuss amending the federal fair housing law to include LGBT protections.
Update.. The NAR Code of Ethics last changed to include a protected class in 1988. In 1988 federal fair housing law changed to include people with handicaps and families with children and the NAR Code was amended to match
the federal law.
An important clarification. This isn’t final yet. As mentioned on the NAGLREP website, “As of 5/15, the motion has been approved by NAR’s Board of Directors, and will go before NAR’s delegate body during their annual meeting this November 2010 in New Orleans for final review. If final review is passed, the change in code will take effect January 1, 2011.”
The NAR Board also undertook preventing discrimination based upon sexual orientation by Realtors in “employment practices.”
Under the NAR definition this includes independent contractors. Most licensed agents and brokers fall under this category and are rarely protected under ANY state law because of it, so this will be extremely significant if it also passes in November. It could really set the stage nationally on employment law in general.
David Mack Henderson, Realtor