Why “disabled people” gets a Fair Housing caution in listings

Why

Describes people by disability. Describe the accessible features of the property instead.

Safer wording

There's no one-click rewrite for this one. Describe the property, not the people, and rewrite this part by hand.

What the tag means

Caution means the phrase is on the caution side of the cited lists, or describes people in a way that usually reads as a preference. Many agents still use some of these, but describing the property instead is the safer move.

What ListingLint matches

This rule is tested against its own examples on every change. It catches disabled people, and also: handicapped people.

Check your own wording

Paste a sentence or your whole listing. It runs ListingLint's real rule engine in your browser, and nothing is uploaded. disabled people

1 phrase to look at

• Caution “disabled people”

  Describes people by disability. Describe the accessible features of the property instead.

A word check, not a legal review. Open the full checker for fixes, the fact lock and the MLS character count.

What the law covers here

The federal statute uses the word "handicap" and defines it as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of one, or being regarded as having one. Describing accessibility features of the property is generally fine. Describing which people can or can't live there is what gets flagged.

• Fair Housing Act definitions, 42 U.S.C. § 3602
• Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604(c)

Sources

• Long Island Board of REALTORS®: Fair Housing Advertising Word and Phrase Guidelines (Mar. 2025)
• CRMLS Fair Housing Word & Phrase List (Apr. 2021)

Related phrases

• no wheelchairs Avoid
• not suitable for wheelchairs Avoid
• able-bodied only Avoid
• agile Caution
• crippled Avoid
• no hiv Avoid
• no group homes Avoid
• non-drinkers only Avoid

All disability phrases on one page · The 12-check listing checklist

Not legal advice. Word lists can't judge context, and laws differ by state and city, with some protecting more classes than federal law does. If you're unsure about a listing, ask your broker or a fair housing attorney. Rule dis-disabled-people, ListingLint rules v2026.10.2.