COLUMBUS — It is already illegal to discriminate based on race when it comes to home buying, but a just introduced bipartisan bill would block that information from getting to sellers in the first place until after an offer is accepted.
"It's a violation of the ethics of a Realtor if the seller is intentionally being discriminatory based on race," said state Rep. Josh Williams (R., Sylvania Township). "The problem is, you don't know.
"A Realtor gives offers to sellers with identification markers," he said. "There's nothing preventing a seller from Googling the people listed in the offer sheets."
Mr. Williams introduced House Bill 438, the would-be Homebuyer Protection Act, with state Rep. Dontavius Jarrells (D., Columbus). Both sponsoring lawmakers are Black.
It would prohibit licensed real estate agents from disclosing to the seller a prospective buyer's name, age, race, or address on preliminary documents like a mortgage pre-approval letter or proof of adequate funds.
The would-be buyer's initials could be used, and the buyer's agent could provide a notarized affidavit as proof of receipt of such documents.
Once a sales agreement has been reached, the purchase agent would provide the buyer's name and address within two days.
"We absolutely oppose housing discrimination," said Ali Whitley, of Akron, president of the 36,000-member Ohio Realtors Association. "We follow the National Association of Realtors Code of Ethics. Article 10 dictates that we never deny professional service to any of the protected classes."
The association plans to discuss the bill when it meets next month.
"It's a little more complicated than just redacting individuals' names from documents," Ms. Whitley said. "There are challenges in doing that. We would question the liability associated with completing affidavits."
Ms. Whitley said there are no boxes to be checked now on such documents to indicate someone's race or age. Names, signatures, and sometimes addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses may appear on preliminary bank and other documents.
"People do come to open houses and showings, but it's illegal to discriminate against any protected class," she said. "It's not something we do. We are also not able to disclose anything that has to do with any of the protected classes.
"That wouldn't be on the purchase agreement," Ms. Whitley said.
Mr. Williams concedes race and age are not required information now, but he said it's still possible for someone to do an internet search of a person's name and address and jump to conclusions based upon what they find.
"We added race and age [to the bill] to show our clear intention," he said. "We're more concerned about address and name because that can indicate race, gender, nationality, ethnicity, religion, and even political affiliation if you Google it.
"You can look someone up to see if they're a Trump supporter and maybe you don't want a Trump supporter, or someone with a pro-trans flag on their Facebook page," Mr. Williams said.
The bill was introduced earlier this month and awaits assignment to a committee.
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