Why “lesbians” gets a Fair Housing caution in listings

Why

References to sexual orientation or gender identity describe people, not the property. They're on the LIBOR and CRMLS avoid lists, and NAR's Code bars REALTORS® from ads indicating such preferences.

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.

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1 phrase to look at

• Caution “lesbians”

  References to sexual orientation or gender identity describe people, not the property. They're on the LIBOR and CRMLS avoid lists, and NAR's Code bars REALTORS® from ads indicating such preferences.

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

Sex is a protected class under the federal Fair Housing Act. The flagged phrases describe who the home is for by sex or marital role (a bachelor pad, a man cave as a selling point to men). Many states and cities also name sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes, so check your own state's list.

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

Sources

• NAR Code of Ethics, Article 10 and Standard of Practice 10-3
• Long Island Board of REALTORS®: Fair Housing Advertising Word and Phrase Guidelines (Mar. 2025)
• CRMLS Fair Housing Word & Phrase List (Apr. 2021)

Related phrases

• women only Avoid
• single woman Avoid
• women roommates Depends
• perfect for bachelors Avoid
• bachelor pad Caution
• man cave Minor
• gentleman's farm Minor
• fisherman's paradise Minor

All sex, incl. sexual orientation & gender identity 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 sex-sogi-terms, ListingLint rules v2026.10.2.