Fair Housing Card
The eight rules, on one page. San Antonio, verified August 2026.
If you do only one thing
Write your screening standard down before you take the first application, apply it to every applicant without exception, and keep the file on every denial. A written standard applied consistently is the strongest fair housing defense there is.
Eleven classes, not seven
The seven federal classes, plus four more inside San Antonio city limits: sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, and age 40 and over.
Describe the property, never the person
Say what the home has, never who it would suit. Not safe: perfect for a young couple, ideal for a single professional, great for a small family.
Familial status means children
The class small landlords trip over most, and almost always through an occupancy rule rather than a refusal.
Two per bedroom is guidance, not a rule
Reasonable under longstanding federal guidance, but rebuttable on bedroom size and layout. Do not apply it mechanically.
One written standard, applied to everyone
HUD withdrew its 2016 criminal-records guidance in September 2025, but disparate impact liability still stands. One standard, every applicant, every denial documented.
Never deny on an arrest alone
An arrest that did not lead to a conviction is not a screening fact. Convictions are.
Call before you decline a veteran
No general source of income protection in Texas, but veterans are the express exception and San Antonio acted on it in 2026. Call the City or an attorney first.
The small landlord exemption has three traps
The advertising ban still applies. The exemption dies the moment you use an agent or broker. And a separate statute bars race discrimination with no exemption at all.
A summary only. The reasoning and the statutes behind each rule are in Section 5 of the Landlord Operations Packet at movingtexas.ai/landlord-packet. Rules change, sometimes quickly. Nothing here is legal advice.
David Torres
Realtor | Realvisor Realty