(a) No person shall commit an unlawful discriminatory practice in the city. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any person to:
(1) Fail or refuse to sell, transfer, assign, rent, lease, sublease or finance housing accommodations, or otherwise deny or withhold housing accommodations from any person, because of the race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap or familial status of a prospective owner, occupant or user of the housing;
(2) Represent to any person, because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap or familial status, or any prospective owner, occupant or user of the housing, that the housing is not available for inspection, sale, transfer, assignment, rental, lease or sublease, when in fact it is so available;
(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, or discriminate against any person in fixing the amount, interest rate, duration or other terms or conditions of a loan or other financial assistance, because of the race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap or familial status of any present or prospective owner, occupant or user of the housing, 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 as part of the purchase price of an owner-occupied residence he or she is selling not 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, because of the race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap or familial status of any present or prospective owner, occupant or user of the housing;
(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, national origin, handicap or familial status of any present or prospective owner, occupant or user of the housing;
(6) Print, circulate, advertise or publish any statement or advertisement relating to the sale, transfer, assignment, rental, lease, sublease or acquisition of any 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 indicates any preference, limitation, specification or discrimination based upon race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap or familial status;
(7) 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, national origin, handicap or familial status, 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;
(8) Include in any transfer, repair 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 provision, unless the restrictive covenant is in violation of this chapter;
(9) Induce or solicit, or attempt to induce or solicit, a housing listing, sale or transaction, or discourage or attempt to discourage the same, by representing, directly or indirectly, 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, the sale or listing by representing that the presence or anticipated presence of persons of any race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap or familial status 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; or
C. An increase in criminal or antisocial behavior in the area;
(10) 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 or such access, membership or participation, on the basis of that person's race, color, religion, national origin, handicap or familial status;
(11) Coerce, intimidate, threaten or interfere with any person in the exercise or enjoyment of, or on account of that person having exercised or enjoyed, or having aided or encouraged any other person in the exercise or enjoyment of, any right granted or protected;
(12) Whether or not acting under color of law, by force or threat of force, willfully injure, intimidate or interfere with any person because of race, color, religion, national origin, handicap or familial status, and because that person is or has been selling, purchasing, renting, financing, occupying contracting or negotiating for any dwelling, or applying for or participating in any service, organization or facility relating to the business of selling or renting housing accommodations.
(b) Whoever violates any of the provisions of division (a) hereof is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree and shall be subject to the penalty provided in § 698.02.
(Ord. 29-96, passed 8-19-1996)