What advertising practices does the Fair Housing Act regulate?

Fair Housing Act advertising regulations apply broadly to any real estate advertising regardless of medium. Prohibited content: (1) Direct statements of preference or limitation: 'no children,' 'adults only,' 'Christian community,' 'whites preferred'; (2) Indirect language that conveys preference: 'walking distance to St. Mary's church' (could suggest religious preference), 'integrated community' (often implies racial steering), 'good for singles' (excludes families); (3) Imagery — using only models of certain races, ages, or family compositions in advertising; (4) Discriminatory targeting in audience selection — Facebook lawsuits showed advertisers could target only certain demographics, raising fair housing issues. Safe language: focus on the property and the unit, not on who would or would not be appropriate residents. Acceptable: 'master bedroom,' 'family room' (refers to room types, not occupants), 'great room,' 'office.' Avoid: descriptors of ideal occupants based on protected characteristics. Equal Housing Opportunity logo or phrase should appear in advertising as a positive declaration. HUD investigates advertising complaints; civil rights organizations conduct paired testing to detect discriminatory advertising. Online ads have particular complexity given algorithmic targeting; managing brokers should review brokerage and individual licensee advertising for compliance.