Fair Housing 

Consequences of Not Completing the Mandated NAR Fair Housing Requirement 

If the mandated NAR Fair Housing requirement is not completed by the deadline of December 31, 2027, SFAR, CAR and NAR memberships will be suspended on January 1, 2028. 

In the event of a REALTOR® broker’s suspension of membership, the memberships of all REALTOR® agents under his or her office will also become suspended. Further, upon a broker’s termination of membership, the same will apply to his or her agents’ REALTOR® memberships. 

If a REALTOR® agent’s membership is terminated, that agent’s broker will incur a Non-Member Special Dues Assessment in the amount of $887 for that agent’s failure to remain an active REALTOR® member licensed under a REALTOR® broker. 

Once a terminated REALTOR® who is in default of meeting the mandated NAR Code of Ethics requirement has completed the course, he or she will qualify for reinstatement of membership. However, please note that a reinstatement fee will apply.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the history of this requirement?
   NAR’s Board of Directors approved a new policy during the May 2023 REALTORS® Legislative Meetings that institutes a Fair Housing training requirement for all members. The policy is based on a recommendation created by a work group composed of members of the Fair Housing Committee, Professional Development Committee, Association Executives Committee, and Membership Policy and Board Jurisdiction Committee (the recommendation was presented to the Board by the latter).

    
   Is there a cost associated with completing this requirement?
   Not necessarily! At Home with Diversity and Bias Override satisfy the course requirements, and Fairhaven, a fair housing simulation training that helps REALTORS® identify, prevent, and address discriminatory practices in real estate, will be updated to meet the 2- hour requirement and serve as a no-cost option. 

   Why 2 hours? Why not more or less?
   2 hours of instructional time meets the learning objectives and topics that the Board of Directors felt are necessary to cover in a quality Fair Housing course, while also considering the average length of Fair Housing courses that are currently mandated by some state licensing authorities. Also of note, 2 hours would be the minimum – several of the current NAR offerings that would satisfy the requirement (At Home With Diversity, Bias Override) are slightly longer.

Why every 3 years? Why not more or less?
The requirement lines up with the current Code of Ethics training cycle to ease the burden on local associations and avoid confusing members.

Why wait for the next cycle in 2025 to begin this requirement?
Several reasons: – To mindfully avoid confusing members by adding requirements during an education cycle that has already begun. – To give associations time to prepare any equivalent options they may wish to offer. – To allow NAR to create a more comprehensive version of Fairhaven, as well as a new anti-bias course with a non-residential focus.

Who will decide what courses will qualify as equivalent courses?
The model already in use to decide whether Code of Ethics courses will count for equivalency credit will be used for this requirement as well. Local and state associations can create and approve their own equivalent courses based on the 2 -hour minimum and set of learning objectives created by NAR. Third-party providers may also partner with local and state associations to create equivalency courses, with those local and state associations approving based on the 2-hour minimum and learning objectives. This is identical to how Code of Ethics equivalencies are currently determined.

Won’t this requirement be a significant burden on local and state associations?
To avoid burdens on local and state associations, NAR will offer several options online via NAR’s learning platform, along with the Bias Override classroom program which associations can already provide and for which grants are available. At the same time, the opportunity exists for associations to provide equivalent courses if they wish to. Associations without the means to hold their own courses would have the ability to promote all NAR-sponsored or association-sponsored offerings to their members.

How will completion of these courses be tracked?
Tracking this requirement will be done through M1, identical to how the Code of Ethics course is currently tracked.

Are commercial members and apraisers included in the requirement?
The requirement applies to all REALTORS®, regardless of specialty, and includes options (such as Bias Override and a to-be-developed non-residential course) that go beyond residential brokerage and are applicable and educational for all members.
Effective January 1, 2026, the Appraisal Qualifications Board (AQB) requires all certified/licensed appraisers to complete a 7-hour “Valuation Bias and Fair Housing” course as part of their 28 hours of continuing education. Subsequent renewals require a 4-hour course every two years, while new applicants need an 8-hour course. In 2025, NAR’s Executive Committee approved a recommendation allowing for any course approved by the AQB or by a state’s appraisal licensing authority for this requirement to automatically satisfy NAR’s Fair Housing requirement.

Does C2EX Count for this requirement?
Members who complete At Home With Diversity or Fairhaven as part of their C2EX course work after 1/1/2025 will satisfy their Fair Housing requirement.

My state licensing authority requires their own Fair Housing training. Do I have to take this in addition?
Courses approved for an existing requirement by a state licensing authority will count, provided they meet the 2-hour minimum and learning objectives, just as any other equivalent course would.

Why not just add a Fair Housing component to the Code of Ethics course and maintain one requirement?
The Board of Directors decided that these will be considered two distinct requirements running on the same cycle. Simply put, the Code of Ethics and Fair Housing are two separate topics, and the work group wanted to avoid confusing the two in the minds of members. Also, adding new material to the Code of Ethics course instead would require that even more material be created, and that said material would be the only way to fulfill the requirement. Members would not have the option to choose from the multiple, existing training options.

Will this requirement be a significant burden on members?
The Board of Directors passed this requirement after ensuring that members not only had several options to meet the requirement at the national, state, and local levels, but also the ability to satisfy the requirement at no cost to them, with a revamped Fairhaven course being offered at no cost to members.

Why did the Board of Directors feel this was necessary?
A pillar in NAR’s Fair Housing ACT Plan is Training. The Fair Housing Committee found that less than half of states require regular Fair Housing training as a condition of maintaining licensure. Many REALTORS® currently have no requirement for Fair Housing training of any kind. Providing equal professional services is an essential part of our commitment to a higher ethical standard.