(a) It is a defense to criminal prosecution or civil action under Section 20A-4 that:
(1) the housing accommodation is owned, controlled, or managed by:
(A) a religious organization, or a nonprofit organization that exists in conjunction with or is operated, supervised, or controlled by a religious organization, and the organization sells or rents the housing accommodation only to individuals of the same religion as the organization; except that, this defense is not available if:
(i) the offense involves discrimination other than on the basis of religion;
(ii) the organization owns, controls, or manages the housing accommodation for a commercial purpose; or
(iii) membership in the religion is limited to individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin, or source of income.
(B) a nonprofit religious, educational, civic, or service organization or by a person who rents the housing accommodation to individuals, a predominant number of whom are associated with the same nonprofit religious, educational, civic, or service organization, and the organization or person, for the purposes of privacy and personal modesty, rents the housing accommodation only to individuals of the same sex or provides separate accommodations or facilities on the basis of sex; except that, this defense is not available if the offense involves:
(i) discrimination other than on the basis of sex; or
(ii) a sale of the housing accommodation; or
(C) a private organization and, incidental to the primary purpose of the organization, the organization rents the housing accommodation only to its own members; except that, this defense is not available if:
(i) the organization owns, controls, or manages the housing accommodation for a commercial purpose; or
(ii) the offense involves a sale of the housing accommodation; or
(2) compliance with this chapter would violate a federal, state, or local law restricting the maximum number of occupants permitted to occupy a dwelling unit.
(1) a single-family dwelling owned by the respondent; except that, this defense is not available if the respondent:
(A) owns an interest or title in more than three single-family dwellings, whether or not located inside the city, at the time the offense is committed;
(B) has not resided in the dwelling within the preceding 24 months before the offense is committed; or
(C) uses the services or facilities of a real estate agent, or any other person in the business of selling or renting real estate, in connection with a sale or rental involved in the offense; or
(2) occupied or intended for occupancy by four or fewer families living independently of each other, and the respondent is the owner of the accommodation and occupies part of the accommodation as a residence; except that, this defense is not available if the offense involves a sale of all or part of the housing accommodation.
(c) It is a defense to criminal prosecution or civil action under Section 20A-4 as it relates to handicap that occupancy of a housing accommodation by the aggrieved person would constitute a direct threat to the health or safety of another person or result in physical damage to another person’s property.
(d) It is a defense to criminal prosecution or civil action under Section 20A-4 as it relates to familial status that the housing accommodation is:
(1) provided under a state or federal program that is specifically designed and operated to assist elderly persons, as defined in the state or federal program;
(2) intended for, and solely occupied by, a person at least 62 years of age, except that:
(A) an employee of the housing accommodation who performs substantial duties directly related to the management or maintenance of the housing accommodation may occupy a dwelling unit, with family members in the same unit; and
(B) a person under age 62 years residing in the housing accommodation on September 13, 1988 may occupy a dwelling unit, provided that all new occupants following that date are persons at least 62 years of age; and
(C) all vacant units are reserved for occupancy by persons at least 62 years of age; or
(3) intended and operated for occupancy by at least one person 55 years of age or older per dwelling unit, provided that:
(A) the housing accommodation has significant facilities and services specifically designed to meet the physical and social needs of an older person or, if it is not practicable to provide such facilities and services, the housing accommodation is necessary to provide important housing opportunities for an older person;
(B) at least 80 percent of the dwelling units in the housing accommodation are occupied by at least one person 55 years of age or older per dwelling unit; except that a newly constructed housing accommodation for first occupancy after March 12, 1989 need not comply with this requirement until 25 percent of the dwelling units in the housing accommodation are occupied; and
(C) the owner or manager of the housing accommodation publishes and adheres to policies and procedures that demonstrate an intent by the owner or manager to provide housing to persons at least 55 years of age.
(e) It is a defense to criminal prosecution or civil action under Section 20A-4(d) that the person, in the purchasing of loans, considered factors that were justified by business necessity and related to the transaction’s financial security or the protection against default or reduction in the value of the security, but were unrelated to race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin, or source of income.
(f) It is a defense to criminal prosecution under Section 20A-4 that the aggrieved person has been convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction of the illegal manufacture or distribution of a controlled substance as defined by Section 481.002 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, as amended, or by Section 802, Title 21 of the United States Code Annotated, as amended.
(g) It is a defense to criminal prosecution under Section 20A-4(d) that the person was engaged in the business of furnishing appraisals of real property and considered factors other than race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin, or source of income.
(1) the minimum required percentage or number of reserved dwelling units as defined in Section 20A-24, as required by the applicable zoning district;
(2) the minimum required percentage or number of affordable dwelling units, as required by the subsidy or financial award; or
(3) if neither (1) nor (2) applies, at least 10 percent of the dwelling units in a multifamily use, as defined in Section 51A-4.209(b)(5) of the Dallas Development Code, as amended.
(i) Nothing in this chapter prohibits:
(1) conduct against a person because of the person’s conviction by a court of competent jurisdiction of the illegal manufacture or distribution of a controlled substance as defined by Section 481.002 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, as amended, or by Section 802, Title 21 of the United States Code Annotated, as amended; or