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(1) It shall be an unlawful public accommodations practice to deny or interfere with the public accommodations opportunities of an individual or otherwise discriminate based on his or her race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, disability, marital status, familial status, or domestic or sexual violence victim status, including, but not limited to, the following:
(a) For any person being the owner, lessee, proprietor, manager, superintendent, agent or employee of any public accommodation to:
(.1) Refuse, withhold from, or deny to any person, either directly or indirectly, any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities or privileges of such public accommodation on a discriminatory basis. 1110
(.2) Publish, circulate, issue, display, post or mail, either directly or indirectly, any written or printed communication, notice or advertisement to the effect that any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges of any such public accommodation shall be refused, withheld or denied to any person on a discriminatory basis, or that the patronage of any such person is unwelcome, objectionable or not acceptable, desired or solicited. 1111
(.3) Prohibit a breastfeeding mother from or segregate a breastfeeding mother within any public accommodation where she would otherwise be authorized to be, irrespective of whether or not the nipple of the mother's breast is covered during or incidental to breastfeeding. 1112
(.4) Refuse, withhold from, or deny any person access to any separate-gender bathroom where the person's gender identity is consistent with the gender for which such bathroom is reserved. 1113
(b) For any person to harass, threaten, harm, damage or otherwise penalize, retaliate or discriminate in any manner against any person because he, she or it has complied with the provisions of this Section, exercised his, her or its rights under this Section, enjoyed the benefits of this Section, or made a charge, testified, or assisted in any manner in any investigation, proceeding or hearing hereunder.
(c) For any person subject to this Section to fail to post and exhibit prominently in any place of business where public accommodations are provided, any fair practices notice prepared and made available by the Commission, which the Commission has designated for posting.
(d) For any person to aid, abet, incite, induce, compel or coerce the doing of any unlawful public accommodations practice or to obstruct or prevent any person from complying with the provisions of this Section or any order issued hereunder or to attempt directly or indirectly to commit any act declared by this Section to be an unlawful public accommodations practice.
Notes
| 1109 | Amended, 1969 Ordinances, p. 1231; amended, 1972 Ordinances, p. 687; amended, 1982 Ordinances, p. 1476; amended, Bill No. 970750 (approved May 19, 1998). |
| 1110 | Amended, Bill No. 010719 (approved May 29, 2002). |
| 1111 | Amended, Bill No. 010719 (approved May 29, 2002). |
| 1112 | Added, Bill No. 960849 (approved June 25, 1997). |
| 1113 | Added, Bill No. 130224 (approved May 8, 2013). |
(1) In addition to the relief authorized by Section 9-1121 (relating to penalties), the Commission may issue an order directing a respondent who has engaged in an unlawful public accommodations practice to take affirmative action to redress the harms suffered by the complainant. The Commission may order remedies, including, but not limited to:
(a) An order requiring the respondent to cease and desist such unlawful practice;
(b) Any injunctive or other equitable relief, including extending full, equal, unsegregated public accommodations, advantages and facilities;
(c) Payment of compensatory damages;
(d) Payment of punitive damages, not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000) per violation;
(e) Payment of reasonable attorneys' fees;
(f) Payment of hearing costs as reimbursement for expenses incurred by the Commission.
(1) It shall be an unlawful housing and real property practice to deny or interfere with the housing accommodation, commercial property or other real property opportunities of an individual or otherwise discriminate based on race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, disability, marital status, age, source of income, familial status, or domestic or sexual violence victim status, including, but not limited to, the following: 1114.1
(a) For the owner or any other person having the right to sell, rent, lease, or approve the sale, rental or lease of any housing accommodation, commercial property or other real property to refuse to sell, rent, or lease or otherwise discriminate in the terms, conditions, or privileges of the sale, rental, or lease of any housing accommodation, commercial property or other real property or in the furnishing of facilities or services in connection therewith. 1115
(b) For any lending institution to discriminate against any individual in lending, guaranteeing loans, accepting mortgages or otherwise making available funds for the purchase, acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair or maintenance of any housing accommodation, commercial property or other real property. 1116
(c) For any person to make, print or circulate or cause to be made, printed or circulated any written or oral statement, advertisement, or publication, or to use any form of application for the purchase, rental or lease of housing accommodations, commercial property or other real property, or to make real estate appraisals, financial or credit reports or any record or inquiry in connection with the prospective purchase, rental or lease of housing accommodations, commercial property or real property which expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or other discrimination, or any intent to make any such limitation, specification or other discrimination. 1117
(d) For any person with the intention of defeating the purposes of this Chapter to sell, lease or transfer any housing accommodation, commercial property or other real property which is the subject of a written verified complaint filed with the Commission.
(e) For any person, after a complaint regarding a housing accommodation, commercial property or other real property has been filed and prior to a final determination by the Commission, to fail to include a notice of the complaint in any subsequent lease or agreement of sale involving that housing accommodation, commercial property or real property.
(f) For any person being the owner, lessee, manager, superintendent, agent or broker of any housing accommodation, commercial property or other real property, or any other person whose duties, whether voluntary or for compensation, relate to the rental, sale or leasing of commercial housing, to establish, announce, or follow a discriminatory policy of denying or limiting, through a quota system or otherwise, the opportunities of any individual or group to obtain such property. 1118
(g) For any person to harass, threaten, harm, damage or otherwise penalize, retaliate or discriminate in any manner against any person because of such person’s compliance with the provisions of this Chapter, exercise of rights under this Chapter, enjoyment of the benefits of this Chapter, or making a charge, testimony in or assistance in any manner in any investigation, proceeding or hearing hereunder. 1118.1
(h) For any person subject to this Section to fail to post and exhibit prominently in any place of business where the sale or rental of housing accommodations, commercial property or other real property is carried on, any fair practices notice prepared and made available by the Commission, which the Commission has designated for posting.
(i) For any person to give false or misleading information, written or oral, with regard to the sale or rental of any housing accommodation, commercial property or other real property for the purpose of discriminating, including, but not limited to, representing that a property is not available for inspection, sale or rental when such property is, in fact, so available or representing that a property does not accept or is not eligible for use of certain types of source of income, including but not limited to housing assistance vouchers, such as “Section 8” Housing Choice Vouchers. 1119
(j) For any person to make any discriminatory distinctions in the location of a housing accommodation, commercial property or other real property, or to make any discriminatory distinctions relating to the time of delivery or the date of availability of such property. 1120
(k) For any person to aid, abet, incite, induce, compel or coerce the doing of any unlawful housing and real property practice or to obstruct or prevent any person from complying with the provisions of this Section or any order issued hereunder or to attempt directly or indirectly to commit any act declared by this Section to be an unlawful housing and real property practice. 1121
(l) For any person selling, renting or leasing housing accommodations, commercial property or other real property, as broker or agent or as an employee or representative of a broker or agent, to refuse or limit service to any person on a discriminatory basis, or to accept or retain a listing of any housing accommodation, commercial property or other real property for sale, rent or lease with an understanding that discrimination may be practiced in connection with the sale, rental or lease thereof. 1122
(m) For any person to refuse or restrict availability, services, examinations, repairs or improvements of housing accommodations because a potential or current tenant has a source of income that includes housing assistance, such as rental assistance vouchers. 1122.1
(n) For any person to fail to cooperate with a potential or current tenant in completing and submitting required information and documentation necessary to receive any source of income, including but not limited to Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher eligibility or eligibility in another housing assistance program. 1122.2
(2) It shall be an unlawful housing and real property practice for any individual or entity, including but not limited to, any real estate broker or agent, or the employee or representative of any such broker or agent, to solicit any real property for sale or rental, or the listing of any real property for sale or rental, at any time after such individual or entity shall have notice that any owner or other person having the right to sell, rent, lease, or approve the sale, rental or lease of such real property does not desire to sell or rent such real property, or does not desire to be solicited, either by such individual or entity, or by any and all individuals or entities.
(a) The Commission, or such other entity as determined by the Managing Director, is authorized to create and maintain a public list of real property owners who have expressed a desire to not be solicited to sell or rent their real property (Do Not Solicit List). Any real property owner who appears on the Do Not Solicit List may request in writing that the Commission remove their name from the Do Not Solicit List. The Commission will then remove the real property owner's name from the Do Not Solicit List within thirty (30) days of such a request.
(b) The inclusion on this Do Not Solicit List of any real property owner shall be deemed a desire not to sell or rent their real property and a desire not to be solicited under this subsection 9-1108(2).
(3) It shall be an unlawful housing practice for an owner of a property being offered for rental housing, or any other person having the right to rent, lease, or approve the rental or lease of the property, to begin accepting applications for rental housing before providing a uniform written rental screening criteria in a manner that makes such criteria readily available to all potential applicants, such as on a conspicuous place on a rental website or on the premises, if available. The uniform written rental screening criteria shall specify all objective and subjective criteria that will be used to review rental applications, which may include the specific financial, criminal, rental history, and any other criteria used in deciding whether to rent or lease to a prospective tenant. The failure to provide uniform written rental screening criteria as provided in this subsection may be considered evidence of an unlawful housing practice under subsection (1). 1123
(4) Except as provided in subsections (4)(a) and (4)(b), below, it shall be an unlawful housing practice for the owner of the property being offered for rental housing, or any other person having the right to rent, lease or approve the rental or lease of the property, to reject an application for rental housing without providing the applicant a written or electronic document setting forth a plain statement of all reasons for the denial of the application, and which, to the extent permitted by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681 et seq., includes a copy of any documents obtained from a third party for the purpose of establishing the applicant's eligibility or otherwise deciding whether to rent the unit to the applicant, within three business days of the rejection. The failure to comply with this subsection may be considered evidence of an unlawful housing practice under subsection (1). 1124
(a) Rejection of Applications. An application for rental housing shall not be considered rejected for the purpose of this subsection (4) unless the applicant was denied after consideration of the applicant's specific eligibility and suitability for the housing or an applicable application fee was collected.
(b) Application to Publicly-Assisted Rental Housing. Any rental housing which is owned, operated, subsidized or financed by a program of the federal, state or local government, or which is otherwise governed by a deed restriction or indenture related to affordability of the rental housing, is exempt from the requirements of this subsection (4), provided that the rental of a particular rental housing unit shall not be excluded from the provisions of subsection (4) because of a tenant-based subsidy.
Notes
| 1114 | Amended, 1967 Ordinances, pp. 1328, 1332; amended, 1969 Ordinances, p. 1231; amended, 1970 Ordinances, p. 150; amended, 1972 Ordinances, p. 687; subsection (1)(m) deleted and subsection (2) added, Bill No. 200544 (approved December 1, 2020), effective January 30, 2021. |
| 1114.1 | Amended, Bill No. 240060 (approved September 4, 2024), effective December 4, 2024. |
| 1115 | Amended, 1980 Ordinances, p. 556; amended, 1982 Ordinances, p. 1476; amended, Bill No. 010719 (approved May 29, 2002). |
| 1116 | Amended, 1980 Ordinances, p. 556; amended, 1982 Ordinances, p. 1476; amended, Bill No. 010719 (approved May 29, 2002). |
| 1117 | Amended, 1980 Ordinances, p. 556; amended, 1982 Ordinances, p. 1476; amended, Bill No. 010719 (approved May 29, 2002). |
| 1118 | Amended, 1980 Ordinances, p. 556; amended, 1982 Ordinances, p. 1476; amended, Bill No. 010719 (approved May 29, 2002). |
| 1118.1 | Amended, Bill No. 240060 (approved September 4, 2024), effective December 4, 2024. |
| 1119 | |
| 1120 | Amended, 1980 Ordinances, p. 556; amended, 1982 Ordinances, p. 1476; amended, Bill No. 010719 (approved May 29, 2002). |
| 1121 | Amended, 1980 Ordinances, p. 556. |
| 1122 | Amended, 1980 Ordinances, p. 556; amended, 1982 Ordinances, p. 1476; amended, Bill No. 010719 (approved May 29, 2002). |
| 1122.1 | Added, Bill No. 240060 (approved September 4, 2024), effective December 4, 2024. |
| 1122.2 | Added, Bill No. 240060 (approved September 4, 2024), effective December 4, 2024. |
| 1123 | Added, Bill No. 210329-A (approved July 15, 2021), effective October 13, 2021 |
| 1124 | Added, Bill No. 210329-A (approved July 15, 2021), effective October 13, 2021 |
(1) Nothing in Section 9-1108 shall:
(a) Bar any religious or denominational institution or organization, or any organization operated for charitable or educational purposes which is operated, supervised or controlled by or in connection with a religious organization, from limiting admission to or giving preference to persons of the same religion or denomination with regard to the occupancy, leasing, sale or purchase of any housing accommodation, commercial property or other real property, or from making such selection as is calculated by such organization to promote the religious principles for which it is established or maintained.
(b) Apply to the rental or leasing of a room or rooms in a personal residence or the furnishing of facilities or services in connection therewith, except in the case of Limited Lodging, as defined in subsection 14-604(13). 1125
(c) Prohibit the owners of any federally regulated housing for senior citizens from operating in accordance with federal law. 1126
Notes
| 1125 | Amended, Bill No. 150441-A (approved June 18, 2015), effective July 1, 2015. |
| 1126 | Added, 1980 Ordinances, p. 556. |
(1) In addition to the relief authorized by Section 9-1121 (relating to penalties), the Commission may issue an order directing a respondent who has engaged in an unlawful housing or real property practice to take affirmative action to redress the harms suffered by the complainant. The Commission may order remedies including, but not limited to:
(a) An order requiring the respondent to cease and desist such unlawful practice;
(b) Any injunctive or other equitable relief, including:
(.1) selling, renting or leasing specified housing accommodations, commercial property or other real property upon non-discriminatory terms and conditions;
(.2) lending money for repair or maintenance of housing accommodations, commercial property or other real property upon non-discriminatory terms and conditions;
(.3) lending money, whether secured by mortgage or otherwise, for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair or maintenance of housing accommodations, commercial property or other real property upon terms and conditions generally available;
(c) Payment of compensatory damages;
(d) Payment of punitive damages, not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000) per violation;
(e) Payment of reasonable attorneys' fees;
(f) Payment of hearing costs as reimbursement for expenses incurred by the Commission.
(2) If it appears that a housing accommodation, commercial property or other real property that is the subject of a complaint before the Commission may be sold, rented or transferred before the Commission has made a determination of the case, the Law Department, at the request of the Commission, is authorized to seek, in the name of the City, injunctive relief by an appropriate court restraining the sale, rental or transfer of the housing accommodation, commercial property or other real property except in compliance with the order of the court pending final determination of such complaint. It is the intent of this Chapter that a bond shall not be a prerequisite to the granting or extension of any injunction provided herein.
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