Can I refuse to rent to someone because of their age?
When you selectively offer tenancy to some individuals and not to others you have violated Fair Housing Acts. Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (the Fair Housing Act), as amended, prohibits discrimination in housing and housing related transactions based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or familial status. While the Act does not expressly ban discrimination based on age, age discrimination is prohibited under the broader discrimination protections afforded familial status and disability.
Additionally, many states and some cities have fair housing laws that provide additional anti-discrimination protections including age. You cannot refuse to rent to a person or require additional terms and conditions for tenancy solely because of age. If an older individual applies for a vacancy and qualifies under your rental standards, the same consideration for tenancy must be given to that applicant as would be given to any other applicant. Note that an elderly tenant may also qualify as a disabled tenant who is entitled to reasonable accommodations of a rental policy as a result of disability. Disability is a protected class under the Fair Housing Act.
In most states a person under the age of 18 is a minor and cannot legally enter into a contract. However a minor can become an emancipated minor through emancipation by marriage, military enlistment or court permission. An emancipated minor is treated as an adult and has legal capacity to enter into a legally binding lease agreement with a landlord. If an applicant who is an emancipated minor applies for a vacancy and qualifies under the landlord’s standards, the same consideration must be given to the emancipated minor as for all applicants. A refusal to rent to the emancipated minor could be the basis of a fair housing complaint.