1901.05 EXEMPTIONS.
   (a)   The provisions of this chapter shall not:
      (1)    Prohibit a religious organization, association, society, or any nonprofit 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 having preference to such persons, unless membership in such religion is restricted on account of ascribed status. Additionally, nothing in this chapter shall 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, provided such club does not discriminate in its membership;
      (2)    Require any person selling or renting property to modify such property in any way at his or her expense, provided that such person does not refuse to permit reasonable modifications by a handicapped person, necessary for that person to fully enjoy the premises in which he or she resides, when such modifications are made at the expense of the handicapped person, which permission may be conditioned on that person's promise to restore the premises to the condition in which it previously existed before granting permission for such modification. Additionally, this chapter shall not be construed to relieve any handicapped person of any obligation generally imposed on all persons regardless of handicap in a written lease, rental agreement, or contract for purchase or sale, or to forbid distinctions based on the inability to fulfill the terms and conditions, including financial obligations, of the lease, agreement, or contract, so long as such distinctions are not based on the handicap itself, or on the landlord's refusal to make reasonable modification in the lease, agreement or contract conditions for the purpose of denying a handicapped person equal opportunity to the use and enjoyment of the premises;
      (3)    Prohibit restricting the sale or rental of a dwelling on the basis of handicap when such a dwelling is authorized, approved, financed, or subsidized in whole or in part for the benefit of persons with handicaps by an agency of the federal government, or an agency of state or local government acting under an express grant of federal authority, so long as such restrictions do not discriminate against otherwise qualified handicapped persons;
      (4)    Require that a dwelling be made available to a person with a handicap 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;
      (5)    Prohibit the applicability of any reasonable local, state, or federal restrictions regarding the maximum number of occupants permitted to occupy a dwelling;
      (6)    Apply to housing for older persons, with regard to familial status;
      (7)   Prohibit a person engaged in the business of furnishing appraisals of real property to take into consideration factors other than ascribed status;
      (8)    Prohibit 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 21 U.S.C. § 802.
   (b)   Section 1901.07, except Section 1901.07(h), shall not apply to any single-family house sold or rented by an owner, provided that:
      (1)   The owner does not own more than three single-family homes at the time;
      (2)   The owner does not own any interest in, nor is there owned or reserved in his or her behalf, under any express or voluntary agreement, title to or any right to all or a portion of the proceeds from the sale or rental of more than three single-family homes at the time;
      (3)   The owner does not publish, post or mail, after notice, any advertisement or written notice in violation of Section 1901.07(h);
      (4)   The owner, if not living in the home at the time of the transaction, and if not the most recent occupant of the home, has not used the exemption set forth herein within the last twenty-four months;
      (5)   The owner does not use, in any manner, the sales or rental facilities or the sales or rental services of any real estate broker, agent, or salesman, or any person in the business of selling or renting dwellings, or any employee or agent thereof, except that the owner may use the services of attorneys, escrow agents, abstractors, title companies, and other professional assistance necessary to perfect or transfer title.
For the purposes of this subsection, a person is “in the business of selling or renting dwellings” if that person:
         A.   Has participated as principal in three or more transactions involving the sale or rental of a dwelling within the last twelve months; or
         B.   Has participated as agent, other than in the sale of his own personal residence, in providing sales or rental facilities or rental services in two or more transactions involving the sale or rental of dwellings in the past twelve months; or
         C.   Is the owner of any dwelling designed or intended for occupancy by, or in fact occupied by, five or more families.
   (c)   Section 1901.07, except Sections 1901.07(b) and (h), shall not apply to rooms or units in dwellings containing living quarters occupied or intended to be occupied by no more than four families when the owner actually maintains and occupies one of such living quarters as his or her residence. (Ord. 2000-79. Passed 7-5-00.)