Section
151.01 Purpose
151.02 Definitions
151.03 Exemptions
151.04 Administrative provisions
151.05 Discrimination prohibited
151.06 Administrative enforcement
151.07 Enforcement by private persons
151.08 Prevailing party; attorney's fees and court costs
151.09 Enforcement by Commission
151.99 Penalty
The purposes of this chapter are the following:
(A) To provide for fair housing practices within the city.
(B) To create a procedure for investigating and conciliating complaints of discriminatory housing practices.
(C) To provide rights and remedies substantially equivalent to those granted under state and federal laws.
(Ord. 5924, passed 7-25-94)
"AGGRIEVED PERSON." Any person who:
(1) Claims to have been injured by a discriminatory housing practice; or
(2) Believes that the person will be injured by a discriminatory housing practice that is about to occur.
"APPRAISER." Any person who, for a fee or in relation to his employment or usual occupation, establishes a value for a housing unit.
"COMMISSION." Refers to the Kokomo Human Rights Commission.
"COMPLAINANT." A person, including the Commission, who files a complaint under this chapter.
"CONCILIATION." The attempted resolution of issues raised by a complaint or by the investigation of a complaint, through informal negotiations involving the aggrieved person, the respondent, and the Commission.
"CONCILIATION AGREEMENT." A written agreement setting forth the resolution of the issues in conciliation.
"DIRECTOR." The director of the Kokomo Human Rights Commission.
“DISABLED” or “DISABILITY.” With respect to an individual:
(1) A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits at least one of the major life activities of the individual;
(2) A record of an impairment described in division (1); or
(3) Being regarded as having an impairment described in division (1).
The term does not include current illegal use of or addiction to a controlled substance (as defined in § 102 of the controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. § 802)).
"DISCRIMINATE" or "DISCRIMINATION." The denial of equal access to or any differences of treatment in the sale, lease, rental, or financing of housing units based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, Veteran status, marital status, familial status, or age and shall include segregation, except that it shall not be discrimination for any religious or denominational institution to prefer members of its own religion or denomination for purposes of employment or religion.
"DISCRIMINATORY HOUSING PRACTICE." An act prohibited by § 151.05 of this chapter.
"DWELLING."
(1) Any building, structure, or part of a building or structure that is occupied as, or designed or intended for occupancy as, a residency by one or more families; or
(2) Any vacant land that is offered for sale or lease for the construction or location of a building, structure, or part of a building or structure described by division (1).
"FAMILIAL STATUS." One or more individuals (who have not attained the age of 18 years) being domiciled with:
(1) A parent or another person having legal custody of such individual or individuals; or
(2) The designee of such parent or other person having such custody, with the written permission of such parent or other person.
The protections afforded against discrimination on the basis of familial status shall apply to any person who is pregnant or is in the process of securing legal custody of any individual who has not attained the age of 18 years.
"FAMILY." Includes a single individual.
"GENDER IDENTITY." An individual having or being perceived as having a gender-related self-identity, self-image, appearance, expression or behavior, regardless of whether it is the same or different from those characteristics traditionally associated with the individual's assigned sex at birth.
"HOUSING UNIT." A single room or a suite of rooms, or an apartment or dwelling, occupied or intended for occupancy as separate living quarters, by an individual, by a family or by a group of individuals living together, or a parcel of real property or a lot available for the construction of a housing unit.
"LENDING INSTITUTION." Any person regularly engaged in the business of lending money or guaranteeing loans.
"MARITAL STATUS." A person's state of being single, married, separated, divorced, or widowed.
"OWNER." An owner, including the lessee, sublessee, assignee, managing agent, or other person having the right to ownership or possession, or the right to sell, rent, or lease any housing unit.
"OWNER-OCCUPANT." Any person residing in a home who occupies that home as his own personal residence.
"PERSON." One or more individuals, corporations, partnerships, associations, labor organizations, legal representatives, mutual companies, joint-stock companies, trusts, unincorporated organizations, trustees, trustees under Title 11, receivers, and fiduciaries.
"PERSON IN THE BUSINESS OF SELLING OR RENTING DWELLINGS." A person who:
(1) Has, within the preceding 12 months, participated as principal in three or more transactions involving the sale or rental of any dwelling or any interest therein;
(2) Has, within the preceding 12 months, participated as an agent, other than in the sale of his own personal residence in providing sales or rental facilities or sales or rental services in two or more transactions involving the sale or rental of any dwelling or any interest therein; or
(3) Is the owner of any dwelling designed for occupancy by, or occupied by, five or more families.
"PROTECTED CLASS." Those characteristics of a person that cannot be targeted for discrimination and include race, religion, color, sex, disability, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, marital status, familial status, and age.
"REAL ESTATE BROKER." Any person who, for a fee or other valuable consideration, sells, purchases, exchanges or rents, or negotiates, or offers or attempts to negotiate, the sale, purchase, exchange, or rental of the real property of another, or holds himself out as engaged in the business of selling, purchasing, exchanging, or renting the real property of another, or collects rental for the use of real property of another.
"REAL ESTATE SALESMEN" or "REAL ESTATE AGENT." Any person employed by a real estate broker to perform or assist in the performance of any or all the functions of a real estate broker.
"RESPONDENT."
(1) The person accused in a complaint of discriminatory housing practice; or
(2) Any person identified as an additional or a substitute respondent under I.C. 22-9.5-6-4 or an agent of an additional or a substitute respondent.
"SEXUAL ORIENTATION." An individual's actual or perceived identity or practice as a lesbian woman, gay man, bisexual person or heterosexual person.
"TO RENT." Includes to lease, to sublease, to let, or to otherwise grant for a consideration the right to occupy premises not owned by the occupant.
"VETERAN STATUS.”
(1) A veteran of the armed forces of the United States;
(2) A member of the Indiana National Guard; or
(3) A member of a reserve component.
(Ord. 5924, passed 7-25-94; Am. Ord. 6128, passed 7-12-99; Am. Ord. 6252, passed 1-13-03; Am. Ord. 6829, passed 6-27-16)
(A) Sale or rental of single-family houses, rooms or units in certain dwellings.
(1) Subject to subdivision (2), § 151.05 (B) does not apply to the following:
(a) The sale or rental of a single-family house sold or rented by an owner if:
1. The owner does not:
a. Own more than three single-family houses at any one time; or
b. Own any interest in, nor is there owned or reserved on the owner's behalf, under any express or voluntary agreement, title to, or any right to any part of the proceeds from the sale or rental of more than three single-family houses at any one time; and
2. The house was sold or rented without:
a. The use in any manner of the sales or rental facilities or the sales or rental services of any real estate broker, an agent, or salesman, or of such facilities or services of any person in the business of selling or renting dwellings, or of any employee or agent of any such broker, agent, salesman, or person.; or
b. The publication, posting, or mailing of a notice, a statement, or an advertisement prohibited by § 151.05 (C).
(b) The sale or rental of rooms or units in a dwelling containing living quarters occupied or intended to be occupied by no more than four families living independently of each other if the owner maintains and occupies one of the living quarters as the owner's residence.
(2) The exemption in subdivision (2)(a) applies to only one sale or rental in a 24 month period if the owner was not the most recent resident of the house at the time of the sale or rental.
(B) This division does not prohibit a religious organization, an association, or a society or a nonprofit institution or an organization operated, supervised, or controlled by or in conjunction with a religious organization, an association, or a society from:
(1) Limiting the sale, rental, or occupancy of dwellings that it owns or operates for other than a commercial purpose to persons of the same religion; or
(2) Giving preference to person of the same religion unless membership in the religion is restricted because of race, color, sex, national origin, ancestry, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, Veteran status, marital status, familial status, or age.
(C) This division does not prohibit a private club not open to the public that, as an incident to the club's primary purpose, provides lodging that the club owns or operates for other than a commercial purpose from limiting the rental or occupancy of that lodging to the members or from giving preference to the members, unless membership in the club is restricted because of race, color, sex, national origin, ancestry, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, Veteran status, marital status, familial status, or age.
(D) Housing for older persons.
(1) As used in this division, "housing for older persons" means housing:
(a) That the Commission determines is specifically designed and operated to assist elderly persons under federal or state program, provided that, any such determination shall be consistent with determinations made by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development concerning the same subject matter;
(b) Intended for and solely occupied by persons at least 62 years of age; or
(c) Intended and operated for occupancy by at least one person at least 55 years of age, subject to regulations developed by the Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development under Section 807(b)(2)(C) of the federal Fair Housing Act.
(2) The provisions of § 151.05 (A) relating to familial status do not apply to housing for older persons.
(E) Appraisal of property. This division does not prohibit a person engaged in the business of furnishing appraisals of real property from taking into consideration factors other than race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, Veteran status, marital status, familial status, or age and shall include segregation, except that it shall not be discrimination for any religious or denominational institution to prefer members of its own religion or denomination for purposes of employment and housing.
(F) Health or safety restrictions; other laws not affected.
(1) This division does not affect a reasonable local, or state restriction on the maximum number of occupants permitted to occupy a dwelling or restriction relating to health or safety standards provided that such restrictions are themselves reasonable and do not discriminate on any basis prohibited by this chapter.
(2) This division does not affect a requirement of nondiscrimination in any other local, state or federal law.
(Ord. 5924, passed 7-25-94; Am. Ord. 6128, passed 7-12-99; Am. Ord. 6829, passed 6-7-16)
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