Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Communication between prospective buyers and community members?

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

> On Sep 20, 2024, at 6:53 PM, Mariana Almeida via Cohousing-L <cohousing-l 
> [at] cohousing.org> wrote:

> The goal of AB 133 is to reduce the risk of discrimination in real estate 
> transactions by preventing decisions based on protected characteristics, such 
> as race, religion, familial status, or national origin, which can be implied 
> through such letters.
> By banning these letters, California seeks to ensure a fairer and more 
> objective process for home purchases.
> While a direct conversation between a buyer and seller isn’t covered under 
> this specific law, such discussions could still risk the same concerns around 
> fair housing violations if they lead to decisions based on protected 
> characteristics like race, religion, or family status. Both parties should be 
> cautious to avoid any discriminatory practices, whether intentional or not, 
> during direct interactions.

It seems so unlikely in cohousing that I wouldn’t even have considered this. It 
is a law concerning Real Estate agents — I suspect it was a crack-down on 
agents who were coaching clients on what to say in said letters.

A better law would require agents to inform sellers when they are choosing 
buyers and their reasons for rejections are illegal.

After 25 years in cohousing, I have so little awareness of what is "out there.”

Sharon
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Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org