Federal law requiring accessibility in places of public accommodation
The ADA governs the commercial side — shops, offices, restaurants, hotels — and the removal of architectural barriers where readily achievable. Accessibility in private housing comes mainly from the Fair Housing Act instead.
How the exam asks about it
The examinable division is ADA for public accommodations, Fair Housing Act for dwellings. A question about a retail tenant’s obligations is an ADA question.
Inducing sales by exploiting fear about who is moving into a neighborhood
Also called panic selling or panic peddling: suggesting that people of a particular protected class are arriving and that values will fall, in order to generate listings. It is prohibited whether or not the prediction is dressed up as market commentary.
How the exam asks about it
Grouped with steering and redlining. Blockbusting targets existing owners, steering targets buyers, redlining is the lender’s version.
The federal law prohibiting discrimination in housing on protected characteristics
Enacted in 1968 and amended since, most significantly in 1988 when disability and familial status were added. It reaches sale, rental, financing, advertising and brokerage services, and it is administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
How the exam asks about it
The federal protected classes are race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability and familial status. State and local laws add more, and a licensee is bound by whichever rule is stricter where they work.
Protection for households with children under 18, and for pregnant people
Added to federal law in 1988. It covers people who have or are obtaining custody of a child under 18, pregnant people and those in the process of adopting. Refusing a rental because a household has young children is discrimination on this basis.
How the exam asks about it
The narrow exception is qualified housing for older persons, which must satisfy specific statutory conditions rather than simply preferring older residents.
A characteristic on which housing discrimination is prohibited
Seven are protected federally. Many states and cities add others — source of income, marital status, age, sexual orientation and gender identity are common additions — and a licensee complies with the strictest law reaching their transaction.
How the exam asks about it
Items commonly list a characteristic that is not federally protected to see whether you know the federal list precisely.
A change to a rule or policy so a disabled person can use a dwelling equally
Waiving a no-pets policy for an assistance animal, or assigning an accessible parking space, are the standard examples. It concerns rules; a reasonable modification concerns the physical premises, and the two terms are not interchangeable.
How the exam asks about it
The usual test point is who pays. A modification to the premises is generally at the tenant’s expense in private housing, while an accommodation in policy costs the landlord nothing but the exception.
Refusing or worsening credit or insurance terms for whole areas
Denying loans or insurance, or offering worse terms, based on the location of a property rather than the merits of the borrower or the risk. The name comes from the practice of marking neighborhoods on a map.
How the exam asks about it
Prohibited by fair housing law and by fair lending law, so it appears in both the practice and the financing areas of the outline.
Directing people toward or away from areas on the basis of a protected characteristic
It can look like helpfulness — showing homes only where the agent believes people "will feel comfortable" — and it is prohibited regardless of intent. The harm the statute addresses is the segregation of housing itself, so the client’s consent does not cure it.
Answering questions about the demographics or "character" of a neighborhood, however casually asked, is how steering usually happens in practice. Provide objective data sources instead of characterisations.
How the exam asks about it
The reliable practice, and the answer to most scenario items: give the buyer every option that meets their stated criteria and let them choose where to look.
Independent exam preparation. Real Estate Exam Bank is not a state-approved pre-licensing course and completing anything here does not satisfy any state education requirement. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or authorized by any state real estate commission, Pearson VUE, or PSI. Practice questions here are original study material, not the official exam.