(A) Except as provided in division (B) below, it is an unlawful housing practice for a person having the right to sell, exchange, rent or lease any property, or for a real estate operator, a real estate broker, real estate salesperson or any person employed by or acting on behalf of any of these:
(1) To refuse to sell, exchange, rent or lease or otherwise deny to or withhold real property from any person because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability or national origin;
(2) To discriminate against any person because of his or her race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability or national origin in the terms, conditions or privileges of the sale, exchange, rental or lease of real property or in the furnishings of facilities or services in connection therewith;
(3) To refuse to receive or transmit a bona fide offer to purchase, rent or lease real property from any person because of his or her race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability or national origin;
(4) To refuse to negotiate for the sale, rental or lease of real property to any person because of his or her race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability or national origin;
(5) To represent to any person that real property is not available for inspection, sale, rental or lease when in fact it is so available, or to refuse to permit any person to inspect real property because of his or her race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability or national origin;
(6) To make, print, circulate, post or mail or cause to be printed, circulated, posted or mailed an advertisement or sign, or to use a form of application for the purchase, rental or lease of real property, or to make a record or inquiry in connection with the prospective purchase, rental or lease of real property, which indicates directly or indirectly a limitation, specification or discrimination as to race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability or national origin, or an intent to make such a limitation, specification or discrimination;
(7) To offer, solicit, accept, use or retain a listing of real property for sale, rental or lease with the understanding that any person may be discriminated against in the sale, rental or lease of that real property or in the furnishing of facilities or services in connection therewith because of his or her race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability or national origin;
(8) Otherwise to deny or withhold real property from any person because of his or her race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability or national origin;
(9) To discriminate in the sale or rental, or to otherwise make unavailable or deny, a housing accommodation to any buyer or renter because of a disability of:
(a) That buyer or renter;
(b) A person residing in or intending to reside in that housing accommodation after it is so sold, rented or made available; or
(c) Any person associated with that buyer or renter.
(10) To 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 housing accommodation, because of a disability of:
(a) That person;
(b) A person residing in or intending to reside in that housing accommodation after it is sold, rented, or made available; or
(c) Any person associated with that person.
(11) For purposes of this section, discrimination includes:
(a) A refusal, to permit at the expense of the disabled person, reasonable modifications of existing premises occupied or to be occupied by a person, if the modifications may be necessary to afford the 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;
(b) A refusal to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services, when the accommodations may be necessary to afford the person equal opportunity to use and enjoy a housing accommodation; or
(c) In connection with the design and construction of covered multifamily housing accommodations for first occupancy after January 1, 1993, a failure to design and construct those housing accommodations in a manner ensuring that they have at least one entrance on an accessible route unless impracticable to do so because of the terrain or unusual characteristics of the site. Housing accommodations with a building entrance on an accessible route shall comply with the following requirements:
1. The public use and common use portions of the housing accommodations shall be readily accessible to and usable by disabled persons;
2. All the doors designed to allow passage into and within all premises within the housing accommodations shall be sufficiently wide to allow passage by disabled persons in wheelchairs; and
3. All premises within the housing accommodations shall contain the following features of adaptive design:
a. An accessible route into and through the housing accommodation;
b. Light switches, electrical outlets, thermostats and other environmental controls in accessible locations;
c. Reinforcements in bathroom walls to allow later installation of grab bars; and
d. Usable kitchens and bathrooms so that an individual in a wheelchair can maneuver about the space.
(12) Compliance with the appropriate requirements of the American National Standard for buildings and facilities providing accessibility and usability for physically disabled persons, (commonly cited as "ANSI A117.1 - 1986") suffices to satisfy the requirements of division (A)(11)(c)3. of this section;
(13) As used in division (A)(11) of this section, the term
COVERED MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING ACCOMMODATION means:
(a) Buildings consisting of four or more units if the buildings have one or more elevators; and
(b) Ground floor units in other buildings consisting of two or more units.
(14) Nothing in this division requires that a housing accommodation be made available to an individual whose tenancy would constitute a direst threat to the health or safety of other individuals or whose tenancy would result in substantial physical damage to the property of others.
(KRS 344.360)
(B) Exceptions.
(1) The provisions of division (A) above do not apply:
(a) To the rental of a housing accommodation in a building which contains housing accommodations for not more than two families living independently of each other, if the owner or a member of his or her family resides in one of the housing accommodations;
(b) To the rental of one room or one rooming unit in a housing accommodation by an individual if he or she or a member of his or her family resides therein; or
(c) To a religious institution, or to an organization operated for charitable or educational purposes, which is operated, supervised or controlled by a religious corporation, association or society, to the extent that the religious corporation, association or society, limits or gives preferences in, the sale, lease, rental, assignment or sublease of real property to individuals of the same religion, or makes a selection of buyers, tenants, lessees, assignees or sublesses, that is calculated by the religious corporation, association or society to promote the religious principles for which it is established or maintained.
(2) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to affect the legal rights of a private individual homeowner to dispose of his or her property through private sale without the aid of any real estate operator, broker or salesperson and without advertising or public display.
(3) Nothing in this chapter shall require a real estate operator to negotiate with any individual who has not shown evidence of financial ability to consummate the purchase or rental of a housing accommodation.
(Ord. 6-71, passed 3-2-1971) Penalty, see § 92.99
Statutory reference:
Exemption from housing provisions, see KRS 344.365