Assisted living marketing ideas that respect fair housing and FTC rules

Choosing assisted living is usually a family decision made under pressure. An adult child is often the one searching, comparing communities at night after work, while a parent’s needs change faster than anyone planned. They read everything, call several places and visit more than one before deciding.

Assisted living marketing sits where housing and care meet, and that brings in a set of rules many health care marketers never deal with: federal fair housing law. This guide covers how the Fair Housing Act applies to advertising, how ad platforms limit targeting for housing ads, how to describe care and pricing honestly, and what to do about reviews and resident photos. It does not cover state licensing, admission criteria or levels of care, which are set by each state. Daytime programs are covered in adult day health center marketing.

Why fair housing law reaches your ads

The Fair Housing Act defines a dwelling, in 42 U.S.C. 3602(b), as any building, structure or portion of one that is occupied as, or designed or intended for occupancy as, a residence by one or more families. Residents of an assisted living community live there, so ask your attorney how the Act applies to your community. Many operators plan their marketing on the assumption that it does.

42 U.S.C. 3604(c) makes it unlawful to make, print or publish any notice, statement or advertisement with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin. HUD’s regulation, 24 CFR 100.75, says this applies to written and oral statements, and lists applications, flyers, brochures, signs, banners, posters and billboards as examples.

What 24 CFR 100.75 counts as discriminatory advertising

Section 100.75(c) gives examples. Three of them shape everyday marketing decisions:

1. Words, photos and illustrations. Using words, phrases, photographs, illustrations, symbols or forms that convey that dwellings are available or not available to a particular group because of a protected characteristic.
2. Where you advertise. Selecting media or locations for advertising that deny particular segments of the housing market information about housing opportunities because of a protected characteristic.
3. What staff say. Expressing to agents, employees or anyone else a preference for or limitation on any renter because of a protected characteristic.

In practice, review three things. First, the people shown across your photos, brochures and ads over time, so the whole campaign does not suggest the community is meant for one group. Second, the places your ads run. Third, the words your team uses on tours and calls, since oral statements count too.

Handicap is a protected characteristic, which matters in a setting built around care needs. Phrases that suggest people with disabilities are unwelcome, or that a resident must be independent or able-bodied to live there, can raise a question under 100.75(c)(1). Describing the services you provide is different from describing the people you want. If your state license sets admission or retention criteria, ask counsel how to word them, and state them the way the license does.

Age, older persons and familial status

Assisted living ads often speak to older adults. 42 U.S.C. 3607(b) says the Act’s familial status provisions do not apply to housing for older persons, which it defines as housing intended for and solely occupied by people 62 or older, or housing intended and operated for people 55 or older that meets the statute’s conditions, including at least 80 percent of occupied units having at least one person 55 or older.

That exemption is about familial status, meaning households with children. It does not exempt a community from the rules on race, color, religion, sex, handicap or national origin. Whether your community qualifies, and how to describe its age policy, is a question for your attorney. Once you know, state the policy plainly and consistently everywhere.

• Show a range of residents and families in photos across your marketing, without implying the community is for one group.
• Describe services, amenities and care, not the kind of person you want as a resident.
• Use the same wording for any age policy on the website, in brochures, in ads and on tours.
• Train staff who answer calls and give tours on what they can and cannot say.

Google Ads targeting limits for housing

Google’s personalized advertising policy says that in the United States and Canada, certain demographics, namely age, gender, marital status and parental status, may not be used to target housing ads, and that ZIP code location targeting cannot be used for housing ads. Google says the restrictions are meant to help ensure equitable access to housing opportunities.

Plan for that from the start. Campaigns for move-ins are built on search terms, wider locations and the content of the ad, not on targeting by age, which also fits the advertising media point in 100.75(c)(3). Our Google Ads page explains how we plan campaigns around restricted categories.

If your community sells continuing care contracts with an entrance fee, our CCRC marketing guide covers contract types, care for life claims, refund wording and how Medicare and Medicaid lines should read.

Honest claims about care and price

Section 5 of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 45, prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices. For assisted living, the most common risks are care claims and price claims.

• Describe the care your license and staffing actually allow. Avoid around the clock nursing, memory care or similar wording unless you provide that service and your state permits you to advertise it.
• If you publish a starting price, say what it includes and what is added for care levels, medication help or other services.
• Avoid promises about health outcomes, such as fewer falls or better memory, that you cannot support.
• Keep the website, brochures and tour answers consistent, so families do not hear one thing online and another in person.

Reviews and family stories

Families read reviews closely. The FTC rule on consumer reviews and testimonials, 16 CFR Part 465, prohibits fake reviews, and section 465.4 prohibits compensation or other incentives conditioned on reviews expressing a particular sentiment. Ask every family for honest feedback, with nothing tied to a positive review. Our guide to replying to patient reviews covers wording that does not reveal who lives with you.

Under the FTC Endorsement Guides, 16 CFR 255.2(b), an ad that relates one family’s experience on a key point is likely to be read as showing what families will generally experience. Without substantiation that it is representative, the ad should clearly disclose the generally expected results.

Resident photos and privacy

Whether HIPAA applies depends on whether your community is a covered entity. Under 45 CFR 160.103, that includes a health care provider who transmits health information electronically in connection with certain standard transactions, such as billing a health plan. Ask counsel whether that describes you. If it does, using protected health information for marketing generally requires the resident’s written authorization under 45 CFR 164.508, or that of their legal representative.

Even where HIPAA does not apply, residents are entitled to dignity. Get signed, specific permission before using any resident’s photo, name or story, explain where it will appear, and honor a later request to take it down. Photos of the building, rooms, dining, grounds and staff, with their permission, often tell families more than staged resident shots. Our guide to patient testimonials and before-and-after photos covers the rules in more detail.

Assisted living marketing ideas that work inside the rules

1. A page for each level of service. What each includes, how needs are assessed, and what changes the monthly cost, in the same terms as your residency agreement.
2. A clear tour and inquiry path. Online tour requests, calls answered quickly and a callback promise you keep. Staff or an AI front desk can take details after hours and pass care questions to your team.
3. An accurate Google Business Profile. Google’s guidelines require the business name, address and categories to reflect the real business. Keep hours, tour times and photos current; see our healthcare SEO page.
4. Help for adult children. Plain guides on what assisted living is, how it differs from home care and how to compare communities, without claims you cannot support.
5. Referral relationships. Hospital discharge planners, home health agencies and elder law attorneys refer families. Give them accurate information, and ask counsel before giving anything of value tied to referrals; our guide to patient and physician referrals explains why.
6. Tracking by source. Know which searches, listings and referrers bring tours and move-ins, as described on our medical lead generation page.

If your organization also provides care at home or end of life care, see our guides to home health agency marketing and hospice marketing. If you also run a skilled nursing facility, see our guide to nursing home marketing.

Sources

• 42 U.S.C. 3602: Definitions (subsection b, dwelling)
• 42 U.S.C. 3604: Discrimination in the sale or rental of housing (subsection c, advertising)
• 24 CFR 100.75: Discriminatory advertisements, statements and notices
• 42 U.S.C. 3607: Religious organization or private club exemption (subsection b, housing for older persons)
• Google Ads: Personalized advertising policy (housing, employment and consumer finance)
• 15 U.S.C. 45: Unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices
• 16 CFR 255.2: Consumer endorsements
• 16 CFR Part 465: Use of consumer reviews and testimonials
• 45 CFR 160.103: Definitions (covered entity)
• 45 CFR 164.508: Uses and disclosures for which an authorization is required
• Google: Guidelines for representing your business on Google

More in Facilities, care services and pharmacy