Explanations
A restrictive covenant within a deed that attempts to prohibit the sale of property to individuals of a particular race will have no legal effect on the conveyance and is not enforceable. The United States Supreme Court, in Shelley v. Kraemer (1948), ruled that judicial enforcement of racial covenants in real estate constitutes state action and is therefore a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Further rulings in 1972 clarified that recording deeds with racial restrictions also violated the Fifth Amendment and the Federal Fair Housing Law. The FairHousing Act (Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968) explicitly prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of residential real estate based on race, national origin, religion, and gender.
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