Why “cerca de la iglesia” gets a Fair Housing caution in listings

Q: Why "cerca de la iglesia" gets a Fair Housing caution in listings

Caution. Spanish for "near the church": pointing buyers to a house of worship is what the LIBOR and NYPA lists warn against. The NYPA and CRMLS lists accept the neutral "near places of worship" (cerca de lugares de culto).

Caution Flagged as a caution, because it often reads as a preference for, or against, a group of people.

Why

Spanish for "near the church": pointing buyers to a house of worship is what the LIBOR and NYPA lists warn against. The NYPA and CRMLS lists accept the neutral "near places of worship" (cerca de lugares de culto).

Safer wording

cerca de lugares de culto

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 cerca de la iglesia, and also: a pasos de la Iglesia.

What the law covers here

Religion is a protected class under the federal Fair Housing Act. The usual problem is an ad that suggests who should live somewhere because of faith, such as naming a congregation as the reason to buy. A neutral place name with a religious word in it, like a street name, is treated differently in HUD's 1995 guidance.

Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604(c)

Sources

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 es-rel-worship-near, ListingLint rules v2026.10.3.