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This month, we're going to review fair housing rules as they apply to new media advertising and marketing. The Internet, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Foursquare…the options for social networking are endless—and appear to be increasing every year.

This month, we're going to review the rules on how to avoid fair housing problems when showing units to prospects.

This month, Fair Housing Coach reviews the law banning housing discrimination based on familial status. After disability and race, it's the third most common basis—amounting to about 20 percent—of all formal fair housing complaints, according to HUD's most recent report.

This month, we are going to review fair housing rules applicable to advertising and marketing—and explain how to apply those rules in the shift from traditional forms of print media to new media, including the Internet, Facebook, and other Web-based technologies.

This month's lesson discusses how to avoid discrimination based on source of income, a catchall phrase that generally refers to lawful sources of income, such as wages, alimony, and public assistance. The Fair Housing Act (FHA) does not ban discrimination based on source of income, but many state and local governments have adopted some form of protection based on source of income.

This month, we are going to update you on an important topic: screening applicants based on their citizenship and immigration status. Federal fair housing law hasn't changed in this area, but you need to know about a number of significant developments in the law on the state and local levels, according to Atlanta attorney Robin Hein, who specializes in fair housing.

This month we are going to show you how to reject applications without violating fair housing law.

You have the right to reject applications when they do not meet your community's screening criteria. If, for example, an applicant can't show that he can afford your rent, you can legally refuse to rent to him. Whatever the reason for the rejection, it can be painful for the applicant.