“parish” in listing copy is a minor Fair Housing flag

Why

"Parish" is on the avoid lists as a religious reference, but in Louisiana a parish is the county. If that's what you mean, it's a place name.

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

Minor means it's usually fine and worth a second look. Treat it as a style question more than a legal one.

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. parish

1 phrase to look at

• Depends “parish”

  Context matters. Describing the property itself (a converted church loft) or a place name (Temple Terrace) is fine under HUD's memo. Using a house of worship as a selling point is what the word lists warn against.

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

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

• Long Island Board of REALTORS®: Fair Housing Advertising Word and Phrase Guidelines (Mar. 2025)
• Fair Housing Advertising Word and Phrase List (New York Press Assn.; source: Oklahoma Press Assn.)

Related phrases

• christian neighborhood Avoid
• walking distance to church Caution
• church Depends
• christian Caution
• ✡ Caution
• god fearing Caution
• with chapel OK
• kosher kitchen OK

All religion 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 rel-parish, ListingLint rules v2026.10.2.