(a) The following acts or activities shall be unlawful discriminatory housing practices and it is hereby prohibited for any person to:
(1) Refuse to sell, or rent after the making of a bona fide offer, or refuse to negotiate for the sale or rental of, or to otherwise deny, withhold or make unavailable, housing accommodations, because of the race, color, religion, sex, ancestry, handicap, familial status, military status, national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity;
(2) Represent to any person that housing is not available for inspection, sale or rental because of race, color, religion, sex, ancestry, handicap, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity, when in fact it is available;
(3) Refuse to lend money, whether or not secured by mortgage or otherwise, for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair or maintenance of housing or otherwise withhold financing of housing from any person because of the race, color, religion, sex, ancestry, handicap, familial status, military status, national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity of any present or prospective owner, occupant or user of such housing, provided such person, whether as individual, corporation or association of any type, lends money as one of the principal aspects or incident to his principal business and not only as a part of the purchase price of an owner-occupied residence he is selling nor merely casually or occasionally to a relative or friend;
(4) Discriminate against any person in the terms, conditions or privileges of selling, transferring, assigning, renting, leasing or subleasing any housing or in the furnishing of facilities, services or privileges in connection with the ownership, occupancy or use of any housing because of the race, color, religion, sex, ancestry, handicap, familial status, military status, national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity;
(5) Refuse to consider without prejudice the combined income of both husband and wife for the purpose of extending mortgage credit to a married couple or either member thereof;
(6) Print, publish, circulate or otherwise make or cause to be made any statement or advertisement relating to the sale, transfer, assignment, rental, lease, sublease or acquisition of any housing or the loan of money, whether or not secured by mortgage or otherwise, for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair or maintenance of housing which indicates any preference, limitation, specification or discrimination based upon race, color, religion, sex, ancestry, handicap, familial status, military status, national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination;
(7) Make any inquiry, elicit any information, make or keep any record or use any form of application containing questions or entries concerning race, color, religion, sex, ancestry, national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity in connection with the sale or lease of any housing or the loan of any money, whether or not secured by mortgage or otherwise, for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair or maintenance of housing. It shall not be prohibited for any person to make inquiry, elicit any information, make or keep any record or use any form or application containing questions or entries related to handicap or familial status of any person provided that such information is not being used to discriminate against any person or family with regard to housing or housing accommodations. Further provided that this section shall not prohibit any data recording or record keeping or reporting by any person for purposes of complying with any federal record keeping or record reporting requirement associated with HUD assisted housing management or lending activities or other programs administered by HUD including, but not being limited to, the requirements of Section 808(e)(6) of the Fair Housing Act;
(8) Include in any transfer, rental or lease of housing any restrictive covenant, or honor or exercise, or attempt to honor or exercise, any restrictive covenant, provided that the prior inclusion of a restrictive covenant in the chain of title shall not be deemed a violation of this provision;
(9) Induce or solicit or attempt to induce or solicit a housing listing, sale or transaction for profit by representing that a change has occurred or may occur with respect to the racial, religious, sexual, handicap, familial status, military status, ethnic composition, sexual orientation or gender identity of the block, neighborhood or area in which the property is located, or induce or solicit or attempt to induce or solicit such sale or listing by representing that the presence or anticipated presence of persons of any race, color, religion, sex, ancestry, handicap, familial status, military status, national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity in the area shall or may have results such as the following:
A. The lowering of property values;
B. A change in the racial, religious, sexual, handicap, familial status, military status, ethnic composition, sexual orientation or gender identity of the block, neighborhood or area in which the property is located;
C. An increase in criminal or antisocial behavior in the area; or
D. A decline in the quality of the schools serving the area;
(10) Deny any person access to or membership or participation in any multiple-listing service, real estate brokers' organization or other service, organization or facility relating to the business of selling or renting housing accommodations, or to discriminate against any person in the terms or conditions of such access, membership or participation on account of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap, familial status, military status, ancestry, sexual orientation or gender identity;
(11) Coerce, intimidate, threaten or interfere with any person in the exercise or enjoyment of, or on account of that person's having exercised or enjoyed or having aided or encouraged any other person in the exercise or enjoyment of, any right granted or protected by this Fair Housing Code;
(12) Willfully injure, intimidate or interfere with, or attempt to injure, intimidate or interfere with by force or threat of force, whether or not acting under color of law:
A. Any person because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap, familial status, military status, ancestry, sexual orientation or gender identity and because that person is or has been selling, purchasing, renting, financing, occupying, contracting or negotiating for the sale, purchase, rental, financing or occupation of any dwelling, or applying for or participating in any service, organization or facility relating to the business of selling or renting housing accommodations; or
B. Any person or any class of persons from:
1. Participating, without discrimination on account of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap, familial status, military status, ancestry, sexual orientation or gender identity, in any of the activities, services, organizations or facilities described in subsection (a)(12)A. hereof; or
2. Affording another person or class of persons opportunity or protection to so participate;
C. Any person from lawfully aiding or encouraging other persons to participate, without discrimination on account of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap, familial status, military status, ancestry, sexual orientation or gender identity, in any of the activities, services, organizations or facilities described in subsection (a)(12)A. hereof or participating lawfully in speech or peaceful assembly opposing any denial of the opportunity to so participate;
(13) Refuse to issue policies of homeowners' insurance by any insurance company, agent or agency doing business in the City or to restrict the availability of homeowners' insurance to any person or to limit the amount of coverages available to any person or to offer such insurance to any person only at such an excessive rate as to make the insurance unavailable as a practical matter, upon the basis of the predominant religious, racial, sexual, handicap, familial status, military status, ethnic characteristics, sexual orientation or gender identity of the population residing in the block, neighborhood or geographical area in which the prospective insured or applicant for insurance resides or seeks to reside;
(14) Discriminate in any manner against any other person because that person has opposed any unlawful practice defined in this section, or because that person has made a charge, testified, assisted or participated in any manner in any investigation, proceeding or hearing under any provisions of this Fair Housing Code;
(15) Discriminate in the sale or rental, or to otherwise make unavailable or deny, a dwelling to any buyer or renter because of a handicap of:
A. That buyer or renter;
B. A person residing in or intending to reside in that dwelling after it is so sold, rented or made available; or
C. Any person associated with that buyer or renter.
(16) Discriminate against any person in the terms, conditions or privileges of sale or rental of a dwelling, or in the provision of services or facilities in connection with such dwelling, because of a handicap of:
A. That person;
B. A person residing in or intending to reside in that dwelling after it is sold, rented or made available; or
C. Any person associated with that person;
(17) Discriminate against any person in making available residential real estate-related transactions, or in the terms or conditions of such a transaction, because of race, color, religion, sex, ancestry, handicap, familial status, military status, national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity by any person or other entity whose business includes engaging in residential real estate-related transactions.
(Ord. 77-2002. Passed 4-15-02; Ord. 153-2012. Passed 9-24-12.)
(b) For purposes of this subsection, discrimination includes:
(1) A refusal to permit, at the expense of the handicapped person, reasonable modifications of existing premises occupied or to be occupied by such person if such modifications may be necessary to afford such person full enjoyment of the premises; except that in the case of a rental, the landlord may, where it is reasonable to do so, condition permission for a modification on the renter agreeing to restore the interior of the premises to the condition that existed before the modification, reasonable wear and tear excepted;
(2) A refusal to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services, when such accommodations may be necessary to afford such person equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling; or
(3) A failure to design and construct covered multi-family dwellings for first occupancy after March 13, 1991, in such a manner that:
A. The public use and common use portions of such dwellings are readily accessible to and usable by handicapped persons;
B. All the doors designed to allow passage into and within all premises within such dwellings are sufficiently wide to allow passage by handicapped persons in wheelchairs; and
C. All premises within such dwellings contain the following features of adaptive design:
1. An accessible route into and through the dwelling;
2. Light switches, electrical outlets, thermostats and other environmental controls in accessible locations;
3. Reinforcements in bathroom walls which allow later installation of grab bars; and
4. Usable kitchens and bathrooms such that an individual in a wheelchair can maneuver about the space.
D. Compliance with the appropriate requirements of the American National Standard for buildings and facilities providing accessibility and usability for physically handicapped people (commonly cited as "ANSI A117.1") suffices to satisfy the requirements of subparagraph (b)(3)C..
(c) As used in this subsection, the term "covered multi-family dwellings" means:
(1) Buildings consisting of four or more units if such buildings have one or more elevators; and
(2) Ground floor units in other buildings consisting of four or more units.
(d) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to invalidate or limit any statute of Ohio that requires dwellings to be designed and constructed in a manner that affords handicapped persons greater access than is required by this chapter.
(e) Nothing in this section requires that a dwelling be made available to an individual whose tenancy would constitute a direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals or whose tenancy would result in substantial physical damage to the property of others.
(f) As used in this section, the term "residential real estate-related transaction" means any of the following:
(1) The making or purchasing of loans or providing other financial assistance which is either:
A. For purchasing, constructing, improving, repairing or maintaining a dwelling; or
B. Secured by residential real estate.
(2) The selling, brokering, or appraising of residential real property.
(Ord. 77-2002. Passed 4-15-02.)
(g) Nothing in this section prohibits a person engaged in the business of furnishing appraisals of real property to take into consideration factors other than race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry handicap, familial status, military status, sexual orientation or gender identity.
(h) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a religious organization, association or society, or any non-profit institution or organization operated, supervised or controlled by or in conjunction with a religious organization, association, or society, from limiting the sale, rental or occupancy of dwellings which it owns or operates for other than a commercial purpose to persons of the same religion, or from giving preference to such persons, unless membership in such religion is restricted on account of race, color, national origin, military status, sexual orientation or gender identity. Nor shall anything in this section prohibit a private club not in fact open to the public, which as incidental to its primary purpose or purposes provides lodgings which it owns or operates for other than a commercial purpose, from limiting the rental or occupancy of such lodgings to its members or from giving preference to its members, provided such club does not discriminate in its membership policies on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, ancestry, handicap, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity.
(Ord. 153-2012. Passed 9-24-12.)
(i) Nothing in this chapter limits the applicability of any reasonable local, state or federal restrictions regarding the maximum number of occupants permitted to occupy a dwelling. Nor does any provision in this chapter regarding familial status apply with respect to "housing for older persons".
(1) As used in this section, "housing for older persons" means housing:
A. Provided under any state or federal program that the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development has determined is specifically designed and operated to assist elderly persons (as defined in the state or federal program); or
B. Intended for and solely occupied by persons sixty-two years of age or older; or
C. Intended and operated for occupancy by at least one person fifty-five years of age or older per unit. In determining whether housing qualifies as housing for older persons under this subsection, the regulations developed and promulgated by the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall be determinative for purposes of this chapter, and such regulations shall include, but not be limited to the following factors:
1. That at least eighty percent (80%) of the units are occupied by at least one person fifty-five years of age or older per unit; and
2. The publication of, and adherence to, policies and procedures which demonstrate an intent by the owner or manager to provide housing for persons fifty-five years of age or older; and
3. The housing facility or community complies with rules issued by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for the verification of occupancy, which shall provide for verification by reliable surveys and affidavits, and include examples of the types of policies and procedures relevant to a determination of compliance with the requirement of paragraph 2. above. Such surveys and affidavits shall be admissible in administrative and judicial proceedings for the purposes of such verification.
(2) Housing shall not fail to meet the requirements for housing for older persons by reason of: (Ord. 77-2002. Passed 4-15-02.)
A. Persons residing in such housing as of the enactment date of the Federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 on September 13, 1988, who do not meet the age requirements of subsections (i)(1)B. or C. hereof; provided that new occupants of such housing meet the age requirements of subsections (i)(1)B. or C. hereof; or
(Ord. 151-2004. Passed 8-23-04.)
B. Unoccupied units, provided that such units are reserved for occupancy by persons who meet the age requirements of subsections (i)(1)B. and C. hereof.
(j) Nothing in this chapter prohibits conduct against a person because such person has been convicted by any court of competent jurisdiction of the illegal manufacture or distribution of a controlled substance as defined in Section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802). (Last amended by L.1988, P.L.100-430, eff. 3-12-89.)
(Ord. 77-2002. Passed 4-15-02.)