Religion / Fair Housing phrase guide
"walking distance to church" in a real estate listing: Fair Housing caution
Caution Flagged as a caution: it often reads as a preference for, or against, a group of people.
Why
Pointing buyers to a particular church, synagogue, temple or mosque as a selling point can signal a religious preference; "church, near" is on the avoid side of the LIBOR and NYPA lists. The NYPA and CRMLS lists accept the neutral "near places of worship".
Safer wording
- near places of worship
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- Long Island Board of REALTORS®: Fair Housing Advertising Word and Phrase Guidelines (Mar. 2025)
- Fair Housing Advertising Word and Phrase List (New York Press Assn.; source: Oklahoma Press Assn.)
- CRMLS Fair Housing Word & Phrase List (Apr. 2021)
Related phrases
Not legal advice. Word lists can't judge context, and laws differ by state and city. Rule rel-worship-near, ListingLint rules v2026.10.1.