Civil Rights Act of 1968: Fair Housing, Anti-Riot, and Enforcement

The Civil Rights Act of 1968 is a sweeping federal law signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on April 11, 1968, one week after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.¹ It is best known for its Title VIII, the Fair Housing Act, which banned discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing. But the law reaches further than housing. It created federal criminal penalties for using force or threats to interfere with someone’s civil rights, applied most of the Bill of Rights to tribal governments, and made it a federal crime to cross state lines to incite a riot.

Title VIII: The Fair Housing Act

Title VIII, codified at 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601–3619, makes it illegal to discriminate in the sale, rental, financing, or appraisal of housing based on a person’s protected characteristics. The original statute covered four classes: race, color, religion, and national origin. Congress added sex in 1974, and disability and familial status in 1988, bringing the total to seven.²

The banned conduct covers the whole life cycle of a housing transaction. A landlord or seller cannot refuse to negotiate with someone, or lie about a unit being available, because of that person’s protected status. Lenders cannot deny a mortgage or offer worse terms for the same reason.³ Advertising a rental or sale with language that signals a preference for or against a group is illegal, even if no one is ultimately turned away.² The Act also targets blockbusting — convincing homeowners to sell cheaply by suggesting that people of a different race or background are moving into the neighborhood — and it renders racially restrictive covenants in property deeds unenforceable.

Disability and Familial Status Protections

The 1988 amendments do more than add two classes to the list. Landlords must let tenants with disabilities make reasonable modifications to their units at the tenant’s expense, such as installing grab bars, and must make reasonable accommodations in rules and policies, like waiving a no-pets rule for a service animal. Multifamily buildings of four or more units built after March 1991 must meet specific accessibility design standards.²

Familial status protections prevent landlords from refusing to rent to families with children under 18, including households where a child is expected through pregnancy or adoption. Charging higher deposits, imposing harsher lease terms, or restricting children’s use of common areas can all violate the law.

Who Is Exempt

Not every housing arrangement falls under the Act. Religious organizations can limit noncommercial housing they own and operate to members of the same religion, provided membership itself is not restricted by race, color, or national origin. Private clubs that provide lodging as a secondary function can give preference to members.⁴

The law also contains the informally named “Mrs. Murphy” exemption. An owner who lives in a building with no more than four units can rent the other units without following the anti-discrimination rules, as long as the owner does not use a real estate broker and does not run discriminatory ads. A similar carve-out covers a single-family home sold or rented by its owner without a broker, provided the owner does not own more than three such homes. These exemptions are narrow and do not override state or local fair housing laws, which often have fewer exceptions.

Qualified senior housing may exclude families with children. To qualify, at least 80 percent of occupied units must have a resident 55 or older, and the community must publish and follow policies showing its intent to serve older residents.⁴

Criminal Penalties for Interfering With Civil Rights

Title I created a federal crime for anyone who uses force or threats to interfere with a person exercising certain federally connected rights. Codified at 18 U.S.C. § 245, it covers two categories. The first protects anyone, regardless of race, from interference while voting, using federal programs, working for a federal agency, or serving on a federal jury. The second reaches acts motivated by the victim’s race, color, religion, or national origin when the victim is enrolling in a public school or college, using a state-run program, seeking employment, serving on a state jury, using interstate transportation, or patronizing a public accommodation such as a hotel or restaurant.⁵

Title IX, codified at 42 U.S.C. § 3631, adds a parallel crime for anyone who uses force or threats to interfere with a person’s housing rights.⁶ Both provisions use the same penalty scale. A base violation with no physical harm carries up to one year in prison. If the victim suffers bodily injury, or a dangerous weapon is used, the sentence can reach ten years. If someone dies as a result, the offender faces life.⁵ Together these sections give federal prosecutors a hate-crime tool that goes beyond whatever state charges apply.

Title II: The Indian Civil Rights Act

Title II, known as the Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA), applies most Bill of Rights protections to the actions of tribal governments. It is codified at 25 U.S.C. §§ 1301–1303.⁷ Before the ICRA, the Bill of Rights restrained only the federal and state governments, leaving tribal governments largely free to set their own standards.

Under the ICRA, tribal governments cannot restrict freedom of speech, press, assembly, or religion. They cannot conduct unreasonable searches, impose double jeopardy, or deny anyone due process. Criminal defendants in tribal court have the right to a speedy and public trial, to confront witnesses, and to obtain witnesses in their favor.⁷

The ICRA departs from the Bill of Rights in ways that reflect tribal sovereignty. Tribal courts are not required to appoint a lawyer at government expense for defendants who cannot afford one; the statute says defendants may have counsel “at his own expense.” The right to a jury trial applies only in criminal cases where the defendant faces imprisonment.⁷

Sentencing is capped. The baseline maximum is one year in jail and a $5,000 fine for any single offense. The Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 raised the cap to three years and $15,000 per offense, but only when the defendant has a prior conviction for a comparable crime or is charged with conduct that would carry more than one year under federal or state law. Even with enhanced sentencing, no defendant can receive a combined sentence exceeding nine years.⁸

Title X: The Federal Anti-Riot Act

Title X, officially the Civil Obedience Act, added what is commonly called the federal Anti-Riot Act. Codified at 18 U.S.C. § 2101, it makes it a federal crime to travel across state lines, or use interstate communication such as phone, mail, television, or the internet, with the intent to incite, organize, encourage, or participate in a riot.⁹

A conviction requires more than travel with bad intent. The defendant must also perform or attempt an overt act in furtherance of the riot. The maximum penalty is five years in prison and a fine. The provision was controversial from the start. Civil liberties groups argued it could be used against protest organizers, and it has faced First Amendment challenges over the decades.

How Fair Housing Rights Are Enforced

The Fair Housing Act offers three enforcement paths, and a victim can generally choose which to pursue.

HUD Administrative Complaint

Anyone who believes they experienced housing discrimination can file a complaint with HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. The complaint must be filed within one year of the last discriminatory act.¹⁰ HUD investigates and attempts conciliation. If that fails, HUD issues a formal charge, and the case proceeds either before an administrative law judge or, if either side elects, in federal court.¹¹ Administrative law judges can award actual damages, order injunctive relief, and impose civil penalties that rise with repeat violations and adjust annually for inflation.¹²

Private Lawsuit

A victim can file a private lawsuit in federal or state court without going through HUD first, as long as no conciliation agreement has been signed and no administrative hearing has begun on the same complaint. The deadline is two years from the last discriminatory act — twice the HUD complaint window.¹³

Attorney General Enforcement

When the Department of Justice has reason to believe that a person or entity is engaged in a pattern of housing discrimination, or that a denial of fair housing rights raises an issue of general public importance, the Attorney General can file a civil lawsuit directly in federal district court.¹⁴ This path is typically reserved for systemic discrimination rather than isolated incidents, such as a landlord who has turned away many applicants from a protected class over years.¹⁵

1
Miller Center. April 11, 1968: Remarks on Signing the Civil Rights Act
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3604 – Discrimination in the Sale or Rental of Housing
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3605 – Discrimination in Residential Real Estate-Related Transactions
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3607 – Religious Organization or Private Club Exemption
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 245 – Federally Protected Activities
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3631 – Violations; Penalties
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 25 USC Ch. 15 – Constitutional Rights of Indians
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 25 USC 1302 – Constitutional Rights
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2101 – Riots
10
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Learn About FHEO’s Process to Report and Investigate Housing Discrimination
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3612 – Enforcement by Secretary
12
Federal Register. Adjustment of Civil Monetary Penalty Amounts for 2024
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 US Code 3613 – Enforcement by Private Persons
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3614 – Enforcement by Attorney General
15
Department of Justice. A Pattern or Practice of Discrimination