Realogy Announces Support for Fair and Equal Housing Act Bill

MADISON, N.J., Oct. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Realogy Holdings Corp. (NYSE: RLGY), the largest full-service residential real estate services company in the United States, today announced its support for H.R. 1447, the Fair and Equal Housing Act of 2017, which if passed would amend the Fair Housing Act (FHA) under the Civil Rights Act of 1968 to add sexual orientation and gender identity as classes protected against discrimination in the sale, rental, or financing of housing. In its current form, the FHA prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability.

John Peyton, president and CEO of Realogy Franchise Group, affirmed the company's support for H.R. 1447 at the National Association of Gay & Lesbian Real Estate Professionals (NAGLREP) 2018 National Conference, where he also discussed "Looking Forward: Change, Diversity & the Housing Market in 2019 and Beyond," as a featured speaker at the event.

"Realogy strives to be a leader in all aspects of the real estate industry through active engagement and advocacy, and we strongly support the expansion of protections to the LGBT community through H.R. 1447," Peyton said. "Consistent with our vision as a global real estate and relocation services leader, Realogy believes all prospective homeowners should have access to housing without discrimination."

Click here to read Realogy's Statement in Support of H.R. 1447.

Highlights from Realogy's Statement:

• Realogy fully supports the expansion of FHA legal protections as a matter of basic human dignity and as a good business practice.
• Although 22 states and the District of Columbia currently prohibit housing discrimination on the bases of sexual orientation and gender identity, there is currently no federal law that explicitly protects LGBT people from housing discrimination.
• Realogy and its brands – Century 21®, Coldwell Banker®, Coldwell Banker Commercial®, ERA®, Sotheby's International Realty®, Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate, Corcoran®, Citi Habitats^SM and ZipRealty®  -- already actively promote, and are committed to, creating and fostering an environment of diversity throughout their respective organizations/franchise systems, and view diversity as a critical component to the on-going success of their business operations.
• Realogy began a journey more than 10 years ago to focus on external diversity marketplace efforts by forming partnerships with professional real estate associations whose ongoing missions are to improve the homeownership rates of various diverse groups including the LGBT community. 
• Realogy and its brands are partners of NAGLREP, which advocates fair housing for the LGBT+ community.

Click to tweet: .@Realogy announces full support for H.R. 1447, the Fair and Equal Housing Act of 2017 bill, which would expand Fair Housing Act protections to the LGBT community. http://bit.ly/2y00rSN #Diversity

About Realogy Holdings Corp.
Realogy Holdings Corp. (NYSE: RLGY) is the leading and most integrated provider of residential real estate services that is focused on empowering independent sales agents to best serve today's consumers. Realogy delivers its services through its well-known industry brands including Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate, CENTURY 21®, Coldwell Banker®, Coldwell Banker Commercial®, Corcoran®, ERA®, Sotheby's International Realty® as well as NRT, Cartus, Title Resource Group and ZapLabs, an in-house innovation and technology development lab. Realogy's fully integrated business model includes brokerage, franchising, relocation, mortgage and, title and settlement services. Realogy provides independent sales agents access to leading technology, best-in-class marketing and learning programs, and support services to help them become more productive and build stronger businesses. Realogy's affiliated brokerages operate around the world with approximately 192,000 independent sales agents in the United States and approximately 102,000 independent sales agents and approximately 115 other countries and territories. Realogy is headquartered in Madison, New Jersey.

SOURCE Realogy