The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®’ Board of Directors, which met on Saturday at the tail end of the Midyear Meetings & Trade Expo in Washington, D.C., approved a rule that bans REALTORS® from denying equal professional services to a customer on the basis of sexual orientation.

The board amended Article 10 of the Code of Ethics, which addresses “duties to the public.” That part of the Code already prohibits REALTORS® from discriminating against customers on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin. Standard of Practice 10-3 was also amended to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in any advertisements for selling or renting property.

The change, met with applause, was passed unanimously by the Professional Standards Committee earlier in the week. The measure will now go before the NAR Delegate Body for approval at NAR’s annual conference in November.

—Robert Freedman, Stacey Moncrieff, and Brian Summerfield, REALTOR® Magazine