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Housing Law in the United States is primarily focused on the protections and rights given to citizens to secure a place to live. Research in this area involves locating many layers of law:
- Federal laws that establish basic rights and protections
- State laws that establish the landlord/tenant relationship and may add additional protections
- The federal Housing & Urban Development agency works with each state's agency to administer housing programs and distribute funding
- Local city planning and zoning boards who pass ordinances and restrictions on local building
Each group will have its own set of laws and guidance, which will have to be interpreted by the courts.
Cases
Several different courts could hear a case involving housing. State and local courts often hear cases on landlord/tenant relations, while federal courts usually have jurisdiction over claims of housing discrimination and federally-funded affordable housing programs disputes.
Below are links to a few sources offering judicial decisions relating to housing. However, these sources only present a very small slice of case law on these topics.To locate additional cases on housing law, use LexisNexis, Westlaw, and/or Bloomberg Law.
- $190 Million and Counting Database, National Fair Housing Advocate Online WebsiteThis is a settlement database for fair housing lawsuits. Free online access.
- HUD: Fair Housing Act Enforcement ActivityReports issued by HUD on FHA claims and controversies.
- Westlaw's Real Property Practice Area (Subscription Required)
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Use your student credential to access Westlaw's Real Property Practice Area to explore primary and secondary sources dealing with real property. - Lexis Advance - Real Property Law (Subscription Required)
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Use your student credentials to log into Lexis Advance's Real Property Practice law to see primary and secondary materials on real property.
Statutes
Federal statutes, including those on housing topics, are codified in the U.S. Code. Two significant federal statutes addressing housing discrimination and affordable housing programs are The Fair Housing Act and The Department of Housing and Urban Development Act. Both are codified in title 42 of the United States Code.
- The United States CodeA free copy of the United States Code is available on the Government Publishing Office website. It is an authenticated version of the Code that is updated more regularly than the print. Previous versions of the Code are available back to 1994. The Law Library maintains the print edition in the reference hallway along with yearly supplements.
- United States Code Service (Requires Lexis Subscription)
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Student can use their Lexis Advance credentials to access the annotated United States Code Service. the Law Library keeps a current copy of this source in print along U.S.C. and U.S.C.A. in the reference hallway. - United States Code Annotated
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Students can use their Westlaw credentials to access the United States Code Annotated. The Law Library keeps an updated print copy of this source in the reference hallway along with the U.S.C. and U.S.C.S. - HeinOnline - Historic and Current United States Code
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HeinOnline maintains a copy of the United States Code since its inception in 1925. Must be on campus or using VPN to access. - Popular Name ToolIt is sometimes difficult to pin down the location of a bill within the United States Code. Legislation passed by Congress is often scattered throughout the Code, but the Popular Name Table published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel outlines the appropriate U.S.C. sections that the statute appears in.
- HUD Fair Housing Laws and Presidential Executive OrdersHUD maintains a list of Acts and presidential actions that impact housing.
Regulations
Title 24, Code of Federal Regulations: Housing and Urban Development
To locate cases and articles interpreting a particular regulation, use Westlaw or LexisNexis to view citing documents.
Ordinances
Municode and General Code are services that collect municipal codes/local ordinances and index them. The free service allows searching within a specific code; a subscription will allow you to search for a single type of ordinance across several code or within the state or nation.
The Law Library is in the process of acquiring a subscription to Municode; contact a law librarian for access.
- MunicodeHas an extensive collection of Virginia County/City ordinances. Most Southeastern states have robust collections of counties, other states are not as well represented.
- eCode 360 - General CodeGeneral Code has a more extensive collection of code from New England states, especially New York, Masachusetts, Pensylvania, and New Jersey.