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It shall be unlawful to 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 dwellings, or to discriminate against him or her, the terms or conditions of such access, membership or participation, on account of race, color, religion or national origin.
(Prior Code, § 97.06) (Ord. passed 1-2-1996) Penalty, see § 97.99
Nothing in this chapter 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 or national origin. Nor shall anything in this chapter prohibit a private club not in fact open to the public, which as an incident 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.
(Prior Code, § 97.07) (Ord. passed 1-2-1996)
(A) The authority and responsibility for administering this chapter shall be in the Mayor.
(B) The Mayor may delegate any of these functions, duties and powers to employees of the city or to boards of such employees, including functions, duties and powers with respect to investigating, conciliating, hearing, determining, ordering, certifying, reporting or otherwise acting as to any work, business or matter under this chapter. The Mayor shall, by rule, prescribe such rights to appeal from the decisions of his or her hearing examiners to other hearing examiners or to other officers in the city, to boards of officers or to himself or herself, as shall be appropriate and in accordance with law.
(C) All executive departments and agencies shall administer their programs and activities relating to housing and urban development in a manner affirmatively to further the purposes of this chapter and shall cooperate with the Mayor to further such purposes.
(Prior Code, § 97.08) (Ord. passed 1-2-1996)
Immediately after the enactment of this chapter, the Mayor shall commence such educational and conciliatory activities as will further the purposes of this chapter. He or she shall call conferences of persons in the housing industry and other interested parties to acquaint them with the provisions of this chapter and his or her suggested means of implementing it, and shall endeavor with their advice to work out programs of voluntary compliance and of enforcement.
(Prior Code, § 97.09) (Ord. passed 1-2-1996)
(A) Any person who claims to have been injured by a discriminatory housing practice or who believes that he or she will be irrevocably injured by a discriminatory housing practice that is about to occur (hereafter “person aggrieved”) may file a complaint with the Mayor. Complaints shall be in writing and shall contain such information and be in such form as the Mayor requires. Upon receipt of such a complaint, the Mayor shall furnish a copy of the same to the person or persons who allegedly committed or about to commit the alleged discriminatory housing practice. Within 30 days after receiving a complaint, or within 30 days after the expiration of any period of reference under division (C) below, the Mayor shall investigate the complaint and give notice in writing to the person aggrieved whether he or she intends to resolve it. If the Mayor decides to resolve the complaints, he or she shall proceed to try to eliminate or correct the alleged discriminatory housing practice by informal methods of conference, conciliation and persuasion. Nothing said or done in the course of such informal endeavors may be made public or used as evidence in a subsequent proceeding under this chapter without the written consent of the persons concerned. Any employee of the Mayor who shall make public any information in violation of this provision shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, thereof shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than one year.
(B) A complaint under division (A) above shall be filed within 180 days after the alleged discriminatory housing practice occurred. Complaints shall be in writing and shall state the facts upon which the allegations of a discriminatory housing practice are based. Complaints may be reasonably and fairly amended at any time. A respondent may file an answer to the complaint against him or her and with the leave of the Mayor, which shall be granted whenever it would be reasonable and fair to do so, may amend his or her answer at any time. Both complaints and answers shall be verified.
(C) If, within 30 days after a complaint is filed with the Mayor, the Mayor has been unable to obtain voluntary compliance with this chapter, the person aggrieved may, within 30 days thereafter, file a complaint with the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Mayor will assist in this filing.
(D) If the Mayor has been unable to obtain voluntary compliance within 30 days of the complaint, the person aggrieved may, within 30 days hereafter commence a civil action in any appropriate court, against the respondent named in the complaint, to enforce the rights granted or protected by this chapter, insofar as such rights relate to the subject of the complaint. If the court finds that a discriminatory housing practice has occurred or is about to occur, the court may enjoin the respondent from engaging in such practice or order such affirmative action as may be appropriate.
(E) In any proceeding brought pursuant to this section, the burden of proof shall be on the complainant.
(F) Whenever an action filed by an individual shall come to trial, the Mayor shall immediately terminate all efforts to obtain voluntary compliance.
(Prior Code, § 97.10) (Ord. passed 1-2-1996)
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