
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 42USC1982]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
                        CHAPTER 21--CIVIL RIGHTS
 
                         SUBCHAPTER I--GENERALLY
 
Sec. 1982. Property rights of citizens

    All citizens of the United States shall have the same right, in 
every State and Territory, as is enjoyed by white citizens thereof to 
inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal 
property.

(R.S. Sec. 1978.)

                          Codification

    R.S. Sec. 1978 derived from act Apr. 9, 1866, ch. 31, Sec. 1, 14 
Stat. 27.
    Section was formerly classified to section 42 of Title 8, Aliens and 
Nationality.

            Ex. Ord. No. 11063. Equal Opportunity in Housing

    Ex. Ord. No. 11063, Nov. 20, 1962, 27 F.R. 11527, as amended by Ex. 
Ord. No. 12259, Dec. 31, 1980, 46 F.R. 1253; Ex. Ord. No. 12892, Sec. 6-
604, Jan. 17, 1994, 59 F.R. 2939, provided:
    WHEREAS the granting of Federal assistance for the provision, 
rehabilitation, or operation of housing and related facilities from 
which Americans are excluded because of their race, color, creed, or 
national origin is unfair, unjust, and inconsistent with the public 
policy of the United States as manifested in its Constitution and laws; 
and
    WHEREAS the Congress in the Housing Act of 1949 [see Short Title 
note set out under section 1441 of this title] has declared that the 
general welfare and security of the Nation and the health and living 
standards of its people require the realization as soon as feasible of 
the goal of a decent home and a suitable living environment for every 
American family; and
    WHEREAS discriminatory policies and practices based upon race, 
color, creed, or national origin now operate to deny many Americans the 
benefits of housing financed through Federal assistance and as a 
consequence prevent such assistance from providing them with an 
alternative to substandard, unsafe, unsanitary, and overcrowded housing; 
and
    WHEREAS such discriminatory policies and practices result in 
segregated patterns of housing and necessarily produce other forms of 
discrimination and segregation which deprive many Americans of equal 
opportunity in the exercise of their unalienable rights to life, 
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and
    WHEREAS the executive branch of the Government, in faithfully 
executing the laws of the United States which authorize Federal 
financial assistance, directly or indirectly, for the provision, 
rehabilitation, and operation of housing and related facilities, is 
charged with an obligation and duty to assure that those laws are fairly 
administered and that benefits thereunder are made available to all 
Americans without regard to their race, color, creed, or national 
origin:
    NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President 
of the United States by the Constitution and laws of the United States, 
it is ordered as follows:

                  Part I--Prevention of Discrimination

    Section 101. I hereby direct all departments and agencies in the 
executive branch of the Federal Government, insofar as their functions 
relate to the provision, rehabilitation, or operation of housing and 
related facilities, to take all action necessary and appropriate to 
prevent discrimination because of race, color, religion (creed), sex, 
disability, familial status or national origin--
    (a) in the sale, leasing, rental, or other disposition of 
residential property and related facilities (including land to be 
developed for residential use), or in the use or occupancy thereof, if 
such property and related facilities are--
    (i) owned or operated by the Federal Government, or
    (ii) provided in whole or in part with the aid of loans, advances, 
grants, or contributions hereafter agreed to be made by the Federal 
Government, or
    (iii) provided in whole or in part by loans hereafter insured, 
guaranteed, or otherwise secured by the credit of the Federal 
Government, or
    (iv) provided by the development or the redevelopment of real 
property purchased, leased, or otherwise obtained from a State or local 
public agency receiving Federal financial assistance for slum clearance 
or urban renewal with respect to such real property under a loan of 
grant contract hereafter entered into; and
    (b) in the lending practices with respect to residential property 
and related facilities (including land to be developed for residential 
use) of lending institutions, insofar as such practices relate to loans 
hereafter insured or guaranteed by the Federal Government.
    Sec. 102. I hereby direct the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development and all other executive departments and agencies to use 
their good offices and to take other appropriate action permitted by 
law, including the institution of appropriate litigation, if required, 
to promote the abandonment of discriminatory practices with respect to 
residential property and related facilities heretofore provided with 
Federal financial assistance of the types referred to in Section 
101(a)(ii), (iii), and (iv).

           Part II--Implementation by Departments and Agencies

    Sec. 201. Each executive department and agency subject to this order 
is directed to submit to the President's Committee on Equal Opportunity 
in Housing established pursuant to Part IV of this order (hereinafter 
sometimes referred to as the Committee), within thirty days from the 
date of this order, a report outlining all current programs administered 
by it which are affected by this order.
    Sec. 202. Each such department and agency shall be primarily 
responsible for obtaining compliance with the purposes of this order as 
the order applies to programs administered by it; and is directed to 
cooperate with the Committee, to furnish it, in accordance with law, 
such information and assistance as it may request in the performance of 
its functions, and to report to it at such intervals as the Committee 
may require.
    Sec. 203. Each such department and agency shall, within thirty days 
from the date of this order, issue such rules and regulations, adopt 
such procedures and policies, and make such exemptions and exceptions as 
may be consistent with law and necessary or appropriate to effectuate 
the purposes of this order. Each such department and agency shall 
consult with the Committee in order to achieve such consistency and 
uniformity as may be feasible.

                          Part III--Enforcement

    Sec. 301. The Committee, any subcommittee thereof, and any officer 
or employee designated by any executive department or agency subject to 
this order may hold such hearings, public or private, as the Committee, 
department, or agency may deem advisable for compliance, enforcement, or 
educational purposes.
    Sec. 302. If any executive department or agency subject to this 
order concludes that any person or firm (including but not limited to 
any individual, partnership, association, trust, or corporation) or any 
State or local public agency has violated any rule, regulation, or 
procedure issued or adopted pursuant to this order, or any 
nondiscrimination provision included in any agreement or contract 
pursuant to any such rule, regulation, or procedure, it shall endeavor 
to end and remedy such violation by informal means, including 
conference, conciliation, and persuasion unless similar efforts made by 
another Federal department or agency have been unsuccessful. In 
conformity with rules, regulations, procedures, or policies issued or 
adopted by it pursuant to Section 203 hereof, a department or agency may 
take such action as may be appropriate under its governing laws, 
including, but not limited to, the following:
    It may--
    (a) cancel or terminate in whole or in part any agreement or 
contract with such person, firm, or State or local public agency 
providing for a loan, grant, contribution, or other Federal aid, or for 
the payment of a commission or fee;
    (b) refrain from extending any further aid under any program 
administered by it and affected by this order until it is satisfied that 
the affected person, firm, or State or local public agency will comply 
with the rules, regulations, and procedures issued or adopted pursuant 
to this order, and any nondiscrimination provisions included in any 
agreement or contract;
    (c) refuse to approve a lending institution or any other lender as a 
beneficiary under any program administered by it which is affected by 
this order or revoke such approval if previously given.
    Sec. 303. In appropriate cases executive departments and agencies 
shall refer to the Attorney General violations of any rules, 
regulations, or procedures issued or adopted pursuant to this order, or 
violations of any nondiscrimination provisions included in any agreement 
or contract, for such civil or criminal action as he may deem 
appropriate. The Attorney General is authorized to furnish legal advice 
concerning this order to the Committee and to any department or agency 
requesting such advice.
    Sec. 304. Any executive department or agency affected by this order 
may also invoke the sanctions provided in Section 302 where any person 
or firm, including a lender, has violated the rules, regulations, or 
procedures issued or adopted pursuant to this order, or the 
nondiscrimination provisions included in any agreement or contract, with 
respect to any program affected by this order administered by any other 
executive department or agency.

Part IV--Establishment of the President's Committee on Equal Opportunity 
                               in Housing

    [Revoked. Ex. Ord. No. 12259, Dec. 31, 1980, 46 F.R. 1253; Ex. Ord. 
No. 12892, Sec. 6-604, Jan. 17, 1994, 59 F.R. 2939.]

    Part V--Powers and Duties of the President's Committee on Equal 
                         Opportunity in Housing

    Sec. 501. [Revoked. Ex. Ord. No. 12259, Dec. 31, 1980, 46 F.R. 1253; 
Ex. Ord. No. 12892, Sec. 6-604, Jan. 17, 1994, 59 F.R. 2939.]
    Sec. 502. (a) The Committee shall take such steps as it deems 
necessary and appropriate to promote the coordination of the activities 
of departments and agencies under this order. In so doing, the Committee 
shall consider the overall objectives of Federal legislation relating to 
housing and the right of every individual to participate without 
discrimination because of race, color, religion (creed), sex, 
disability, familial status or national origin in the ultimate benefits 
of the Federal programs subject to this order.
    (b) The Committee may confer with representatives of any department 
or agency, State or local public agency, civic, industry, or labor 
group, or any other group directly or indirectly affected by this order; 
examine the relevant rules, regulations, procedures, policies, and 
practices of any department or agency subject to this order and make 
such recommendations as may be necessary or desirable to achieve the 
purposes of this order.
    (c) The Committee shall encourage educational programs by civic, 
educational, religious, industry, labor, and other nongovernmental 
groups to eliminate the basic causes of discrimination in housing and 
related facilities provided with Federal assistance.
    Sec. 503. [Revoked. Ex. Ord. No. 12259, Dec. 31, 1980, 46 F.R. 1253; 
Ex. Ord. No. 12892, Sec. 6-604, Jan. 17, 1994, 59 F.R. 2939.]

                         Part VI--Miscellaneous

    Sec. 601. As used in this order, the term ``departments and 
agencies'' includes any wholly-owned or mixed-ownership Government 
corporation, and the term ``State'' includes the District of Columbia, 
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the territories of the United 
States.
    Sec. 602. This order shall become effective immediately.
    [Functions of President's Committee on Equal Opportunity in Housing 
under Ex. Ord. No. 11063 delegated to Secretary of Housing and Urban 
Development by Ex. Ord. No. 12892, Sec. 6-604(a), Jan. 17, 1994, 59 F.R. 
2939, set out as a note under section 3608 of this title.]


                            Cross References

    Third party tort liability to United States for hospital and medical 
care, see section 2651 et seq. of this title.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 1988, 3608 of this title.
