How the Fair Housing check works
Updated
Ostira checks the texts and emails it sends to your contacts, and the content you draft, for wording that could break Fair Housing rules. The check helps you catch problems. It doesn't guarantee that a message is compliant, and it won't catch everything, so you're still responsible for what you send.
What it looks for
Wording that could discriminate against one of the seven groups protected by the federal Fair Housing Act: race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status and disability. That includes steering language, such as hinting at who should or shouldn't live somewhere.
How a message is checked
- Ostira first compares the text with a list of words and phrases known to cause problems. Common real-estate terms, such as "walk-in closet" or "family room", are allowed.
- If the list finds nothing serious, Ostira reviews the text with AI to look for less obvious problems.
If the AI review can't run for some reason, only the word list is used.
Blocked or flagged
Each problem the check finds is one of two kinds:
| Kind | What it means |
|---|---|
| Blocked | A clear problem. The message can't be sent until you change the wording. |
| Warning | A possible problem for you to review. It doesn't stop the message. |
Each problem comes with a short reason and a suggested rewrite.
What happens in each part of Ostira
| Where | What happens when the check finds a problem |
|---|---|
| Ostira's replies to leads | The reply isn't sent. Ostira pauses the conversation and leaves you a draft, reworded to pass when it can. You choose Send draft, Edit or Dismiss. If Ostira couldn't find wording that passes, only Edit and Dismiss are offered. See Review Ostira's suggested drafts. |
| Messages you write in a conversation | Not sent. Under the message box you see each flagged phrase and a suggested rewrite. Change the wording and send again. |
| Ask Ostira follow-up drafts | That draft isn't sent. You see "Fair Housing check: rephrase" and the flagged phrase. The other drafts still go out. |
| Campaign steps | Each step is checked when you open and edit it, and issues show under Compliance review. You can't enroll contacts while a step has blocked wording. If a step is still blocked when it's due, it's skipped for that contact. See Why a campaign step was skipped. |
| Content | Issues are highlighted in the editor. Select one to see why and a suggested replacement. Select Re-check compliance after you edit. If issues remain when you mark the item final, Ostira asks you to confirm with Mark as final anyway. See Manage your content library. |
What you can control
- Change the flagged wording, or use the suggested rewrite.
- Read every draft before you send it, even when it passed.
- Describe the property and the area, not the people you expect to live there.
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