Skip to content
Need help?

GuideUpdated

What words should a realtor avoid in listing posts and captions?

Any word, photo or symbol that says who should or should not live there. The Fair Housing Act bans ads that show a preference based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin. Describe the home, not the people you picture buying it.

A frame from a walkthrough video PropWalk made from a listing's photos

We make PropWalk, so read this as a summary from a tool maker, not legal advice. We read the law, HUD’s rule and NAR’s Code on Nov 8, 2026.

What does the law ban in ads?

Any notice, statement or ad for selling or renting a home that shows a preference, a limit or discrimination based on a protected class.

  • The protected classes: race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status and national origin.
  • HUD’s rule counts words, phrases, photos, illustrations and symbols.
  • It also covers where you advertise: picking media or places that keep some groups from seeing the home.
  • For REALTORS®, NAR’s Standard of Practice 10-3 adds sexual orientation and gender identity.

What words are safe to use?

Words about the home itself: rooms, size, finishes, views and what is nearby. HUD’s 1995 advertising guidance treated phrases like “master bedroom” and “walking distance to the bus stop” as neutral, though HUD has since taken that memo down.

Do photos count too?

Yes. HUD’s rule covers photos and illustrations, not only words. A listing post that shows only the home keeps the question away.

Make my week of posts

Read on Nov 8, 2026: 42 U.S.C. 3604(c), Fair Housing Act · 24 CFR 100.75, discriminatory advertising · NAR 2026 Code of Ethics (Standard of Practice 10-3) · NAR consumer guide to fair housing · Oregon REALTORS®: fair housing after the guidance reset

Quick answers

What words should a realtor avoid in listing posts?

Any word, photo or symbol that says who should or should not live there, based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin. Describe the home instead.

Does fair housing apply to Instagram posts?

Yes. The law covers any notice, statement or ad about selling or renting a home, whatever the medium.

Is “master bedroom” against fair housing rules?

No law bans it. HUD’s 1995 advertising guidance treated it as a neutral term.

Which groups are protected?

Race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status and national origin under federal law. NAR’s Code adds sexual orientation and gender identity for REALTORS®, and some states add more.

Related questions

Start with the listing you have right now.

Type the listing address. The week of posts is made for you, the walkthrough video included, and it posts itself once you say yes.

Make my week of posts
How PropWalk works