Prohibit housing discrimination on protected grounds

Boston Fair Housing RegulationsCity law

Discrimination is illegal in Boston when renting, buying, selling, or securing financing for housing based on the listed protected characteristics.

Answers the question “What can they check about me?”

The source

… through the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. Still have questions? Contact: Fair Housing and Equity 617-635-2500 send an email 1 City Hall Square Room 966 Boston , MA 02201-2041 United States Laws and discrimination Our commission makes sure property owners don't discriminate against tenants or buyers. In the City of Boston, it’s illegal to discriminate when renting, buying, selling, or securing financing for any housing. You can’t discriminate someone based on their: Race Color Religion Disability National Origin Ancestry Sex Gender Identity Gender Expression Age Sexual Orientation Marital Status Rental Assistance * Family Status ** Military Status * For example renters using Section 8 voucher ** For example, a landlord can’t…

Official law: Open the official source
Document: D012, retrieved Oct 1, 2026
Dates: In force since Nov 6, 2020
Status on Oct 1, 2026: In force

What it depends on

Covers: Applies to housing in the City of Boston.
What you can do next: Read the law at its official source

Audit trail

The model reads the law; code decides who it covers. The line between them stays visible.

Extracted by the model

What the model read from the source text, checked by code (the quote must appear word for word).

Category: Screening
Requirement: Discrimination is illegal in Boston when renting, buying, selling, or securing financing for housing based on the listed protected characteristics.
Key value: none
Effect: protection_or_duty
Quote found in source: yes
Confidence: 90%

reasoning boundary

Decided by code

Deterministic: same rules, facts and date give the same answer.

Jurisdiction: listed only for addresses whose state or legal city is MA-BOSTON.
Dates: in force from 2020-11-06; before that, not yet in force.
Coverage: no building condition the data can test; conditions in words stay with the text.

As of Oct 1, 2026Engine run

Sources retrieved Oct 1, 2026.

Which buildings it reaches

All 110 sample addresses in Massachusetts on Oct 1, 2026.

60 applies
50 not covered

Boston and Cambridge

Every dot is the rule engine’s result for that address. The larger dots are the example addresses listed below. 6 addresses have no coordinates and are counted but not drawn.

Decided by code for the example addresses

On Oct 1, 2026. Rules that don’t apply are left out.

471 Columbia Rd, Dorchester: Applies. Citywide Boston rule in force since November 6, 2020 (Boston Fair Housing Regulations); no building condition in it excludes this address.