- Official section
- Illinois III.G: Illinois Human Rights Act and Fair Housing Advertising Rules
- Broker weight
- Part of the 25% Additional Illinois Laws and Regulations area
- Expected scored items
- The current PSI broker outline assigns about 10 of 40 state questions to Additional Illinois Laws and Regulations
Illinois practice guide
Find the protected basis and the unequal housing action
Spotting a protected class is not enough. Find the action too: different rent, false availability, a coded ad, delayed showing, ignored offer, neighborhood detour, or refusal to adjust a policy. Pair basis with conduct, then test each claimed exemption element.
Last updated: August 1, 2026
What skill does this practice set measure?
Short answer: Illinois fair housing law reaches sales, rentals, ads, showings, negotiation, screening, terms, services, lending, and appraisal. It adds protections beyond the federal floor, including source of income, immigration status, arrest record, ancestry, age, marital status, order-of-protection status, military-related statuses, pregnancy, and reproductive-health decisions. Use objective descriptions and consistent criteria, transmit offers, give truthful availability, never steer or blockbust, separate accommodations from modifications, and apply exemptions narrowly. Client instructions do not excuse discrimination, and advertising restrictions can survive a transaction exemption.
The June 24, 2026 outline names the Illinois Human Rights Act and fair housing advertising rules. This page applies statewide law, IDHR guidance, the federal advertising rule, and license consequences through August 1, 2026. Federal law is a floor, and local ordinances can add protections. Case-specific screening, accommodation, exemption, and criminal-record issues may require legal review.
Ready to work the set?
These questions are original study items aligned to the published outline. They are not copied, recalled, or predicted PSI questions.
1. A landlord tells a broker to reject every applicant who uses a Housing Choice Voucher. What is the best Illinois answer?
- Refuse the blanket source-of-income restriction and use lawful, consistent screening
- Follow the instruction because vouchers are never income
- Publish no Section 8 to save time
- Accept vouchers only from families without children
Show answer and explanation
Answer: Refuse the blanket source-of-income restriction and use lawful, consistent screening
Illinois protects lawful source of income statewide. Reasonable screening can continue, but the income category cannot be rejected at the outset.
2. A broker directs a buyer toward selected neighborhoods based on the buyer's perceived religion. What conduct is this?
- Steering
- Blockbusting
- A reasonable accommodation
- An appraisal adjustment
Show answer and explanation
Answer: Steering
Steering channels a consumer's housing choices because of protected status. Blockbusting uses fear about protected entry to induce an owner to transact.
3. A tenant with a mobility disability requests an exception to the parking lottery for the closest space. What kind of request is this?
- A reasonable accommodation
- A physical modification
- Blockbusting
- A source-of-income waiver
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A reasonable accommodation
The request changes a policy to support equal use and enjoyment. It does not physically alter the premises.
4. A landlord approves a qualifying support dog and charges an extra refundable pet deposit. Which answer is best?
- The automatic extra charge is prohibited, though actual damage may be recovered
- The charge is lawful whenever refundable
- The landlord must ignore actual damage
- The dog can be approved only after purchase of pet insurance
Show answer and explanation
Answer: The automatic extra charge is prohibited, though actual damage may be recovered
Illinois separates an impermissible charge because of the qualifying dog from responsibility for damage the dog actually causes.
5. An owner qualifies for a narrow private transaction exemption. May the owner publish a discriminatory occupant preference?
- No, the main advertising prohibition still applies
- Yes, every transaction exemption eliminates advertising law
- Yes, if the preference appears only online
- Only when a broker writes the ad
Show answer and explanation
Answer: No, the main advertising prohibition still applies
Illinois preserves the advertising prohibition for the principal private-sale, small owner-occupied, and private-room exemptions.
Which answer habits should you watch for?
- Trap
- Memorizing the seven federal classes is enough for an Illinois question.
- Correction
- Illinois housing law protects additional bases, including source of income, immigration status, and arrest record.
- Trap
- A protected-class reference alone proves the complete violation.
- Correction
- Connect the protected basis to a covered housing action, criterion, statement, or unequal result.
- Trap
- No Section 8 is a lawful way to avoid program paperwork.
- Correction
- A blanket voucher rejection is a source-of-income limitation, and providers must cooperate with required approval steps.
- Trap
- A neutral policy can never require an accommodation.
- Correction
- A neutral rule may need a reasonable exception when necessary for a person with a disability to use and enjoy housing equally.
- Trap
- Accommodation and modification are interchangeable words.
- Correction
- Accommodation changes a rule or service; modification physically changes the premises.
- Trap
- A refundable pet deposit is allowed for every assistance animal.
- Correction
- The automatic extra charge is the problem even when refundable; actual damage remains separately recoverable.
- Trap
- An arrest record is the same as a conviction record.
- Correction
- The protected definition includes nonconviction arrests and specified juvenile, sealed, expunged, or impounded records.
- Trap
- Steering means any neighborhood recommendation.
- Correction
- The violation involves channeling based on protected status. Objective information and consumer-defined criteria are different.
- Trap
- Blockbusting concerns a buyer's home search.
- Correction
- Blockbusting induces owners to transact through fear about protected people entering the area.
- Trap
- No children is the same as a reasonable occupancy limit.
- Correction
- A neutral limit addresses how many occupants can live safely in a unit, not a blanket ban on minors.
- Trap
- A private transaction exemption always permits discriminatory advertising.
- Correction
- The Illinois advertising prohibition remains applicable to the main private exemptions.
- Trap
- Following the owner's instruction protects the broker.
- Correction
- A client cannot authorize unlawful discrimination. The broker must refuse, document, and involve the sponsor.
How should you reason through a difficult item?
The blanket voucher rejection
Scenario: A landlord tells the listing broker to reject every Housing Choice Voucher applicant because program inspections and paperwork take extra time.
- A voucher is a lawful source of housing support.
- Illinois protects source of income in housing statewide.
- Rejecting the whole category denies applicants a fair opportunity because of the income source rather than a neutral qualification result.
Answer: The broker should refuse the instruction, involve the sponsoring broker, and apply reasonable, lawful, consistent screening that accounts for the subsidy accurately.
The ad that describes people
Scenario: An owner wants an online listing to say, Quiet Christian building, ideal for a young professional, no children, no Section 8.
- The phrases communicate preferences or limitations based on several protected characteristics.
- Advertising can violate the Act before anyone applies or suffers a completed denial.
- The copy should describe the unit, price, objective terms, accessibility, and amenities instead of a desired occupant.
Answer: Do not publish the requested wording. Rewrite around property facts and document the refusal of the discriminatory instruction.
The neighborhood shortcut
Scenario: A buyer asks for a neighborhood where families like ours live. The broker infers the buyer's religion and shows homes only near houses of worship associated with that religion.
- The broker selected the search area using a protected characteristic.
- A vague consumer statement does not authorize protected-demographic steering.
- The broker can ask for objective criteria and provide neutral resources without choosing a religious composition for the buyer.
Answer: The selective showing is improper steering. Return control to the buyer through objective, consistently available criteria.
The assigned parking request
Scenario: A tenant with a mobility disability requests the closest parking space even though the building assigns parking by lottery. The provider denies the request because changing the lottery would be unfair to everyone else.
- The request changes a policy rather than physically altering the premises.
- An exception may be reasonably necessary for equal use and enjoyment.
- The provider should conduct an individualized accommodation analysis rather than rely on the fact that the policy is neutral on its face.
Answer: Treat it as a reasonable-accommodation request and evaluate necessity and lawful limits through the proper process.
The support-dog deposit
Scenario: A landlord approves a tenant's qualifying support dog but adds a $600 pet deposit. The landlord promises to refund it if the dog causes no damage.
- The extra upfront charge exists because of the qualifying dog.
- Illinois law bars that extra charge in the lease or rental agreement.
- The tenant can still be responsible for actual damage the dog later causes.
Answer: Remove the automatic pet deposit. Address proven damage through the ordinary lawful process if damage actually occurs.
The exempt transaction with a discriminatory ad
Scenario: An owner believes a small owner-occupied property meets a transaction exemption and advertises, Adults only, no families with children.
- A claimed exemption must satisfy every statutory element before it affects the transaction analysis.
- The main Illinois exemptions do not erase the advertising prohibition.
- The ad expresses a familial-status limitation rather than a neutral occupancy number.
Answer: The exemption does not make the discriminatory ad lawful. Replace the wording with objective property and lawful occupancy information.
The EQUAL method for Illinois fair housing questions
- Event: Name the ad, showing, application, screening, offer, service, appraisal, rule, or advice.
- Questioned basis: Use the full Illinois list and test actual or perceived status.
- Unequal result: Compare availability, criteria, timing, access, price, service, records, and reasons.
- Accommodation, modification, or animal: Choose the request type, cost rule, and individualized analysis.
- Limited exemption and licensee action: Prove each element, test advertising separately, refuse discrimination, document the process, and involve the sponsor.
- Checkpoint
- Age
- Current rule
- 40 or older under the general IHRA definition
- Exam warning
- Do not invent a federal housing age class
- Checkpoint
- Source of income
- Current rule
- Lawful manner of support protected statewide
- Exam warning
- No blanket voucher rejection
- Checkpoint
- Immigration status
- Current rule
- Actual or perceived citizenship or immigration status
- Exam warning
- Use only lawful, consistent inquiries
- Checkpoint
- Arrest record
- Current rule
- Nonconviction arrest and specified protected records
- Exam warning
- Not identical to conviction
- Checkpoint
- Familial status
- Current rule
- Child under 18, pregnancy, or securing custody
- Exam warning
- Older-person exception is limited
- Checkpoint
- Accommodation
- Current rule
- Necessary policy, practice, rule, or service change
- Exam warning
- Generally provider responsibility
- Checkpoint
- Modification
- Current rule
- Necessary physical change to existing premises
- Exam warning
- Generally occupant expense
- Checkpoint
- Qualifying support dog
- Current rule
- No extra charge because of the dog
- Exam warning
- Actual damage remains recoverable
- Checkpoint
- Advertising
- Current rule
- No protected preference or limitation
- Exam warning
- Main private exemptions do not erase the ban
- Checkpoint
- Private home sale
- Current rule
- Strict elements including no broker services
- Exam warning
- Licensee involvement can defeat it
Which outline areas does this set sample?
- Topic
- Learning the Illinois housing list
- What to know
- Race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age 40 or older, sex, marital status, order-of-protection status, disability, military status, sexual orientation and gender identity, pregnancy, reproductive-health decisions, unfavorable discharge, familial status, immigration status, source of income, arrest record, and perceived status
- Best exam move
- Use the complete Illinois list when the prompt says Illinois. The seven federal classes are not the whole state answer.
- Topic
- Pairing basis with conduct
- What to know
- Refuse sale or rental, make unavailable, different price, term, privilege, or service, withheld offer, refused negotiation, false availability, denied inspection, missing listing, discriminatory inquiry or criterion, purpose, effect, and causation
- Best exam move
- Identify both why the person was treated differently and what housing opportunity, term, or service changed.
- Topic
- Writing lawful advertising
- What to know
- Print, online listing, social media, sign, oral statement, image, symbol, selected media, targeting, preferred occupant, limitation, intent, result, property feature, price, bedrooms, accessibility, transit, and amenities
- Best exam move
- Describe the property and objective transaction terms rather than the owner's preferred resident.
- Topic
- Providing equal availability and access
- What to know
- Bona fide offer, transmission, listing, inspection, showing, appointment, waiting list, application, response time, negotiation, record, truthful availability, consistent process, false unavailable, and delay
- Best exam move
- Give each consumer the same truthful inventory, showing process, offer handling, and negotiation path regardless of protected status.
- Topic
- Recognizing steering
- What to know
- Neighborhood, school, religion, ethnicity, family composition, disability, protected demographics, discouragement, selective showing, map boundary, crime statement, subjective fit, consumer choice, objective source, equal menu, and proxy
- Best exam move
- Let the consumer define location priorities from objective information without using protected demographics to choose or order the homes.
- Topic
- Recognizing blockbusting
- What to know
- Solicitation, sale, rental, listing, protected people entering, fear, alarm, predicted decline, property value, neighborhood condition, call, mailing, inducement, panic selling, and entry
- Best exam move
- Reject any attempt to win business by warning owners that protected people will enter and harm value or the neighborhood.
- Topic
- Applying source-of-income protection
- What to know
- Lawful support, wages, pension, Social Security, veterans benefit, child support, maintenance, Housing Choice Voucher, assistance, subsidy, inspection, program document, fair opportunity, income calculation, reasonable standard, consistent screening, and no category rejection
- Best exam move
- Evaluate the applicant's ability under lawful, consistent standards without rejecting, discounting, or burdening the source itself.
- Topic
- Separating arrest and conviction
- What to know
- Arrest without conviction, juvenile record, sealed record, expunged record, impounded record, protected arrest record, conviction, individualized policy, relevance, evidence, consistent screening, pretext, and current legal review
- Best exam move
- Do not treat an arrest as proof of conviction or use a protected record as an automatic housing shortcut.
- Topic
- Protecting immigration status
- What to know
- Actual immigration status, perceived immigration status, citizenship, national origin, lawful authorized inquiry, document request, different burden, threat, retaliation, selective verification, and consistent eligibility process
- Best exam move
- Use only lawful, equally applied inquiries and never turn actual or perceived immigration status into a housing preference.
- Topic
- Protecting familial status and age
- What to know
- Child under 18, parent, legal custodian, designee, written permission, pregnancy, securing legal custody, age 40 or older, adults only, no children, safety rule, occupancy limit, housing for older persons, and narrow exception
- Best exam move
- A neutral occupancy standard regulates the number of people, not a blanket preference against children or families.
- Topic
- Analyzing accommodations
- What to know
- Disability, rule, policy, practice, service, request, necessity, equal opportunity, use and enjoyment, accessible parking, assistance animal, no-pet policy, provider cost, individualized review, evidence, direct threat, fundamental alteration, and no stereotype
- Best exam move
- Ask whether changing a policy is reasonably necessary, then evaluate lawful limits using individual facts rather than assumptions.
- Topic
- Analyzing modifications and design
- What to know
- Physical change, premises, occupant expense, restoration agreement, escrow, workmanlike manner, permit, customary deposit, covered multifamily dwelling, first occupancy after March 13 1991, accessible common area, door, route, reinforcement, and controls
- Best exam move
- Separate a physical alteration from a policy change, then determine cost, restoration, and design requirements.
- Topic
- Handling guide, hearing, and support dogs
- What to know
- Blind person, hearing-impaired person, physical disability, guide dog, hearing dog, support dog, bona fide offer, denial, different term, extra lease charge, extra sale charge, pet fee, pet deposit, actual damage, and individualized conduct
- Best exam move
- Reject the automatic charge because of the qualifying dog while preserving responsibility for actual premises damage.
- Topic
- Testing narrow exemptions
- What to know
- Private single-family sale, no more than three homes, last residence, no broker, no agent, owner-occupied four-family building, private room, temporary absence, occupancy limit, religious noncommercial housing, same-religion preference, older persons housing, sex-based room rental, advertising remains, and every element
- Best exam move
- Treat an exemption as a checklist. If one element fails, apply the general rule, and analyze the ad independently.
- Topic
- Choosing the broker response
- What to know
- Client instruction, refuse discrimination, sponsoring broker, written criteria, ad review, showing record, application record, offer transmission, objective source, fair process, documentation, IDHR charge, administrative order, adjudicated violation, Real Estate License Act discipline, and supervision
- Best exam move
- Stop the discriminatory instruction, explain the rule, document the issue, use consistent process, and involve the sponsoring broker or counsel.
What should you sort out before you begin?
- Terms
- Federal floor vs. Illinois protection
- Difference
- Federal fair housing law supplies national minimum classes and conduct rules. Illinois adds protected bases such as source of income, immigration status, arrest record, ancestry, age, marital status, and military-related protections.
- Question cue
- National minimum or broader Illinois rule?
- Terms
- Actual status vs. perceived status
- Difference
- Discrimination can rest on what a person actually is or what the actor believes. A mistaken assumption about a protected status does not automatically make unequal treatment lawful.
- Question cue
- Fact or belief can drive the conduct.
- Terms
- Protected basis vs. prohibited action
- Difference
- The protected basis answers why. The denial, different term, false availability, coded ad, steering, or other housing conduct answers what happened.
- Question cue
- Why and what must connect.
- Terms
- Steering vs. blockbusting
- Difference
- Steering channels a consumer's search based on protected status. Blockbusting frightens an owner into a transaction because protected people may enter the area.
- Question cue
- Direct the consumer or alarm the owner.
- Terms
- Property feature vs. occupant preference
- Difference
- Two bedrooms, accessible entrance, rent, and distance to transit describe the offering. Ideal for singles, Christian home, or no vouchers describes or excludes people.
- Question cue
- Home facts versus resident identity.
- Terms
- Source-of-income screening vs. source rejection
- Difference
- A provider may apply lawful, reasonable, consistent ability-to-pay standards. The provider may not reject the applicant simply because income comes from a protected lawful source.
- Question cue
- Neutral qualification versus category ban.
- Terms
- Arrest record vs. conviction
- Difference
- The protected arrest-record definition includes arrests without conviction and specified protected records. It does not make every conviction an arrest record.
- Question cue
- Allegation or adjudication?
- Terms
- Accommodation vs. modification
- Difference
- An accommodation changes a rule, policy, practice, or service and is generally the provider's responsibility. A modification physically changes existing premises and is generally paid for by the disabled person.
- Question cue
- Change the rule or change the structure?
- Terms
- Animal fee vs. actual damage
- Difference
- An automatic extra charge because of a qualifying guide, hearing, or support dog is prohibited. The person can remain responsible for damage the dog actually causes.
- Question cue
- Status-based upfront charge versus proven damage.
- Terms
- Transaction exemption vs. advertising rule
- Difference
- A private sale or small owner-occupied property may meet a narrow transaction exemption, but the Illinois statute keeps the advertising prohibition applicable to the main exemptions.
- Question cue
- The transaction may be exempt while the ad is not.
How should you review your results?
- Session
- 1. Learn the Illinois list
- Focus
- Federal floor, Illinois additions, actual status, perceived status, source of income, immigration status, arrest record, age, marital status, military protections, pregnancy, and reproductive-health decisions
- Proof you are ready
- Write the complete Illinois housing list and circle every basis absent from the federal seven.
- Session
- 2. Match basis to conduct
- Focus
- Denial, different term, false availability, delayed showing, withheld offer, screening, service, ad, steering, blockbusting, protected basis, comparison, and pretext
- Proof you are ready
- Analyze twenty scenarios by stating the basis, action, comparison, and compliant alternative.
- Session
- 3. Fix ads and search practices
- Focus
- Property description, occupant preference, image, symbol, selective media, audience targeting, objective criteria, neighborhood information, consumer choice, equal menu, and records
- Proof you are ready
- Rewrite fifteen risky ads and repair ten steering scenarios using objective consumer-defined criteria.
- Session
- 4. Separate disability duties
- Focus
- Accommodation, modification, assistance animal, necessity, individualized review, direct threat, provider cost, occupant cost, restoration, design, extra charge, and actual damage
- Proof you are ready
- Classify twenty requests and state the next lawful process step without using stereotypes.
- Session
- 5. Test every exemption
- Focus
- Private sale, number of homes, owner occupancy, broker involvement, four-family property, private room, religious housing, older persons housing, sex-based room rental, advertising, and failed element
- Proof you are ready
- Work fifteen exemption checklists and analyze the ad separately every time.
- Session
- 6. Apply EQUAL
- Focus
- Event, protected basis, unequal result, disability route, exemption, advertising, broker refusal, documentation, sponsorship, and consequence
- Proof you are ready
- Score at least 90% on a new Illinois fair housing set and explain why each distractor fails.
Do not count recognition as mastery. Close the notes and explain the rule, apply it to a new fact pattern, and identify why each distractor fails.
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Questions students ask about Illinois Fair Housing Practice Questions: 2026
What housing conduct does the Illinois Human Rights Act prohibit?
The Act prohibits housing denials, different terms, withheld offers, refused negotiation, false unavailability, discriminatory advertising, knowingly discriminatory listings, and unjustified criteria based on protected status. It also reaches steering, blockbusting, disability discrimination, and unequal sale or rental services.
Which classes are protected in Illinois housing?
Illinois housing protections include race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age 40 or older, sex, marital status, order-of-protection status, disability, military status, sexual orientation including gender identity, pregnancy, reproductive-health decisions, unfavorable military discharge, familial status, immigration status, source of income, and arrest record. Actual and perceived status can matter under the statutory definitions.
Is source of income protected in Illinois housing?
Yes. Lawful source of income can include wages, retirement, child support, Social Security, veterans benefits, and housing assistance. A provider may use reasonable, consistently applied screening but cannot reject or discount an income category because it is a voucher or requires ordinary program participation.
Can an Illinois rental ad say no Section 8?
No. No Section 8, vouchers not accepted, and market-rate applicants only communicate a source-of-income limitation. Statewide protection has applied since January 1, 2023. The provider must offer a fair opportunity and cooperate with required approval steps rather than reject the source outright.
What is the difference between steering and blockbusting?
Steering channels a consumer toward or away from homes because of protected status. Blockbusting tries to induce an owner to transact by creating fear about protected people entering the area. One directs the consumer; the other alarms the owner.
What is a reasonable accommodation in housing?
It changes a rule, policy, practice, or service when reasonably necessary for a person with a disability to use and enjoy housing equally. Examples include accessible parking or a no-pet-policy exception for an assistance animal. The analysis is individualized.
Who pays for a reasonable disability modification?
A reasonable modification physically changes existing premises and is generally paid for by the disabled person. The provider generally bears an accommodation's operational cost. A reasonable restoration agreement may apply to a rental modification, but the provider cannot increase a customary security deposit because of disability.
Can an Illinois landlord charge a pet fee for a support dog?
The Act bars an extra lease, rental, or sale charge because a qualifying person has a guide, hearing, or support dog. The person can remain responsible for actual damage the dog causes. Separate an automatic animal charge from proven damage.
Does an owner-occupied building avoid every fair housing rule?
No. Illinois exemptions are narrow. The advertising prohibition still applies to the main private-sale, small owner-occupied, and private-room exemptions. Broker involvement can defeat the private single-family sale exemption. A transaction exception does not authorize a discriminatory ad.
Are these official Illinois fair housing exam questions?
No. These are original questions aligned to the Illinois Human Rights Act and advertising rules in the broker outline effective June 24, 2026. The Act, IDHR guidance, federal rule, and License Act were checked through August 1, 2026.
Primary sources
- PSI Illinois Candidate Information Booklet dated June 24, 2026
- 775 ILCS 5, current Illinois Human Rights Act
- 775 ILCS 5/1-103, current discrimination definitions
- 775 ILCS 5/3-101, real estate transaction definitions
- 775 ILCS 5/3-102, prohibited real estate acts and advertising
- 775 ILCS 5/3-102.1, disability discrimination and accessibility
- 775 ILCS 5/3-103, blockbusting
- 775 ILCS 5/3-104.1, guide, hearing, and support dogs
- 775 ILCS 5/3-106, narrow real estate exemptions
- Illinois Department of Human Rights housing rights guidance
- IDHR source-of-income housing guidance
- IDHR guidance for real estate professionals
- 24 CFR 100.75, federal discriminatory advertising rule
- 225 ILCS 454/20-20, license discipline for discrimination
The current official outline controls the tested scope. Statutes, regulations, and official agency materials control when a general study rule and a jurisdiction-specific rule differ.
Editorial status
Checked against primary sources
The Pass Illinois editorial team last checked this guide on August 1, 2026. Every practice question is an original study item, and the source links above let you verify the rules that support the lesson.