Massachusetts Fair Housing Law
Area VII is 10% and four items, and it is tested on the ways Massachusetts goes beyond the federal Fair Housing Act.
Classes Massachusetts adds
M.G.L. c.151B s.4(6) and (7) protect, on top of the federal race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and handicap: age, ancestry, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, and veteran or armed forces status, along with blindness, hearing impairment, and the use of a trained dog guide. Section 4(10) adds a class with no federal counterpart at all, forbidding discrimination against a recipient of public assistance or a tenant receiving a housing subsidy such as rental assistance. Section 4(7B) forbids discriminatory advertising.
Massachusetts exceptions
Section 4(7) carries a proviso that it does not apply to the leasing of a single apartment or flat in a two-family dwelling the other unit of which the owner occupies as his residence. The children provisions in s.4(11) have their own narrow exceptions, including a dwelling of three apartments or fewer one of which is occupied by an elderly or infirm person for whom the presence of children would be a hardship, and the temporary letting of a single-family home, apartment, or condominium unit by its owner.
MCAD
A complaint must be filed with the Commission Against Discrimination within 300 days after the alleged act (M.G.L. c.151B s.5). The Commission can award damages including the cost of alternative housing, storage, and moving, and assess civil penalties. For a licensee the consequence runs further: under c.112 s.87AAA a final Commission finding obliges the Board of Registration to suspend the license for sixty days, or ninety on a repeat within two years.
Accommodations and modifications
Section 4(7A) makes it handicap discrimination to refuse to permit a reasonable modification, to refuse a reasonable accommodation in rules or services, or to refuse to rent because of a need for either. The cost is normally the handicapped person's, but in publicly assisted housing, in multiple dwelling housing of ten or more units, or in contiguously located housing of ten or more units, the modification is at the owner's expense.
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State-specific details
State exam facts
- Exam vendor
- PSI
- Prelicensing education
- 40 additional broker education hours (beyond the 40-hour salesperson course)
- Passing score
- 70%
- Scored questions
- 120
Who regulates real estate brokers in Massachusetts?
The Massachusetts Board of Registration of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons, within the Division of Occupational Licensure, licenses brokers. The Board contracts with PSI to deliver the licensing exams.
What experience do I need before the Massachusetts broker exam?
Broker applicants generally must have worked as an affiliated salesperson under an active Massachusetts broker for at least three years (a minimum of about 25 hours per week) and complete an additional 40 hours of broker education. Confirm the current requirement with the Board.
How is the Massachusetts broker exam structured?
The Massachusetts broker exam has about 120 questions split into a general portion and a state portion, delivered by PSI, and a score of at least 70% is required to pass.
Sources: https://www.mass.gov/how-to/prepare-for-and-schedule-your-real-estate-license-exam, https://www.psiexams.com/test-takers/massachusetts-real-estate/
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