(a) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory housing practice for any person to:
(1) Refuse to sell, transfer, assign, rent, lease, sublease or finance housing accommodations; refuse to negotiate for the sale or rental of housing accommodations; or otherwise deny or make unavailable housing accommodations, because of the race, color, religion, sex, familial status, ancestry, disability, military status or national origin of any prospective owner, occupant or user of the housing;
(2) Represent to any person that housing is not available for inspection, sale or rental, when in fact it is available, because of the race, color, religion, sex, familial status, ancestry, disability, military status or national origin of any prospective owner, occupant or user of the housing;
(3) Refuse to lend money, whether or not secured by a mortgage or otherwise, for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair or maintenance of housing or otherwise withhold financing of housing from any person because of the race, color, religion, sex, familial status, ancestry, disability, military status or national origin of any present or prospective owner, occupant or user of the housing, or because of the racial composition of the neighborhood in which the housing is located, provided that the person, whether an individual, corporation or association of any type, lends money as one of the principal aspects of or incident to his or her principal business and not only as a part of the purchase price of an owner-occupied residence he or she is selling nor merely casually or occasionally to a relative or friend;
(4) Discriminate against any person in the terms or conditions of selling, transferring, assigning, renting, leasing or subleasing of any housing, or in furnishing facilities, services or privileges in connection with the ownership, occupancy or use of any housing, including the sale of fire, extended coverage or homeowner's insurance, because of the race, color, religion, sex, familial status, ancestry, disability, military status or national origin of any present or prospective owner, occupant or user of the housing, or because of the racial composition of the neighborhood in which the housing is located;
(5) Discriminate against any person in the terms or conditions of any loan of money, whether or not secured by a mortgage or otherwise, for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair or maintenance of housing, because of the race, color, religion, sex, familial status, ancestry, disability, military status or national original of any present or prospective owner, occupant or user of the housing, or because of the racial composition of the neighborhood in which the housing is located;
(6) Refuse to consider without prejudice the combined income of both husband and wife for the purpose of extending mortgage credit to a married couple or either member thereof;
(7) Print, publish or circulate any statement or advertisement relating to the sale, transfer, assignment, rental, lease, sublease or acquisition of housing or the loan of money, whether or not secured by a mortgage or otherwise, for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair or maintenance of housing, which statement or advertisement indicates any preference, limitation, specification or discrimination based upon race, color, religion, sex, familial status, ancestry, disability, military status or national origin, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation, specification or discrimination;
(8) Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, make any inquiry, elicit any information, make or keep any record or use any form of application containing questions or entries concerning race, color, religion, sex, familial status, ancestry, disability, military status or national origin in connection with the sale or lease of any housing or the loan of any money, whether or not secured by a mortgage or otherwise, for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair or maintenance of housing. Any person may make inquiries and make and keep records concerning race, color, religion, sex, familial status, ancestry, handicap or national origin for the purpose of monitoring compliance with this chapter.
(9) Include in any transfer, rental or lease of housing any restrictive covenant, or honor or exercise, or attempt to honor or exercise, any restrictive covenant, provided that the prior inclusion of a restrictive covenant in the chain of title shall not be deemed a violation of this paragraph;
(10) Induce or solicit, or attempt to induce or solicit, a housing listing, sale or transaction by representing that a change has occurred or may occur with respect to the racial, religious, sexual or ethnic composition of the block, neighborhood or area in which the property is located, or induce or solicit, or attempt to induce or solicit, such sale or listing by representing that the presence or anticipated presence of persons of any race, color, religion, sex, familial status, ancestry, disability, military status or national origin in the area will or may have results such as the following:
A. The lowering of property values;
B. A change in the racial, religious, sexual or ethnic composition of the block, neighborhood or area in which the property is located;
C. An increase in criminal or antisocial behavior in the area; or
D. A decline in the quality of the schools serving the area;
(11) 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 housing accommodations, or discriminate against any person in the terms or conditions of such access, membership or participation, on account of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, disability, military status or ancestry;
(12) Coerce, intimidate, threaten or interfere with any person in the exercise or enjoyment of, or on account of that person's having exercised or enjoyed or having aided or encouraged any other person in the exercise or enjoyment of, any right granted or protected by this section;
(13) Discourage or attempt to discourage the purchase by a prospective purchaser of a housing unit, by representing that any block, neighborhood or area has undergone or might undergo a change with respect to the religious, racial, sexual or ethnic composition of the block, neighborhood or area;
(14) Discriminate in any manner against any other person because that person has opposed any unlawful practice defined in this section, or because that person has made a charge, testified, assisted or participated in any manner in any investigation, proceeding or hearing under Ohio R.C. 4112.01 to 4112.07;
(15) Aid, abet, incite, compel or coerce the doing of any act declared by this section to be an unlawful discriminatory housing practice; obstruct or prevent any person from complying with Ohio R.C. 4112.01 to 4112.11, or any order issued thereunder; or attempt, directly or indirectly, to commit any act declared by this section to be an unlawful discriminatory housing practice; or
(16) Discriminate against any person in appraising the value of any housing in connection with its sale or rental because of the race, color, religion, sex, familial status, ancestry, disability, military status or national origin of the person, or because of the racial composition of the neighborhood in which the housing is located.
(b) Whoever violates any of the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree for a first offense and a misdemeanor of the first degree for a second or subsequent offense. Punishment shall be as provided in Section 698.02.
(Ord. 1988-176. Passed 10-3-88; Ord. 16-136. Passed 9-20-16.)