It is hereby declared to be a discriminatory housing practice and unlawful for any person to:
(a) Refuse to sell, transfer, assign, rent, lease, sublease, finance, negotiate or otherwise deny or make unavailable a dwelling to any person because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability, familial status, national origin, military status, association with a protected class or source of income of any present or prospective owner, occupant, or user of such dwelling;
(b) Represent to any person, because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability, familial status, national origin, military status, association with a protected class or source of income, that a dwelling is not available for sale, rental, or inspection when in fact it is available;
(c) Refuse to lend money or to provide other financial assistance, whether or not secured by mortgage or otherwise, for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair, or maintenance of a dwelling or otherwise withhold financing of a dwelling from any person because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability, familial status, national origin, military status, association with a protected class or source of income of any present or dwelling, provided such person lends money as one of the principal aspects 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 not merely casually or occasionally to a relative or friend;
(d) Discriminate against any person in the terms or conditions of selling, transferring, assigning, brokering, renting, leasing, or subleasing any dwelling or in furnishing facilities, services, or privileges in connection with the ownership, occupancy, or use of any dwelling, including the sale of fire, extended coverage or homeowners insurance, because of the race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability, familial status, national origin, military status, association with a protected class or source of income of any present or prospective owner, occupant, or user of such dwelling, or because of the racial composition of the neighborhood in which the dwelling is located;
(e) Discriminate against any person in the terms or conditions of any loan of money, purchase of loans, or in providing other financial assistance, whether or not secured by mortgage or otherwise, for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair or maintenance of a dwelling because of the race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability, familial status, national origin, military status, association with a protected class or source of income of any present or prospective owner, occupant, or user of such dwelling, or because of the racial composition of the neighborhood in which the dwelling is located;
(f) Refuse to consider without prejudice the purpose of extending mortgage credit to a married couple or either member thereof;
(g) Print, publish, or circulate any statement or advertisement, or make any verbal statement, relating to the sale, transfer, assignment, rental, lease, sublease, or acquisition of any dwelling or the loan of money, whether or not secured by mortgage or otherwise, for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair, or maintenance of a dwelling which indicates any preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination based upon race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability, familial status, national origin, military status, association with a protected class or source of income, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination;
(h) Include in any transfer, rental, or lease of a dwelling any restrictive covenant based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability, familial status, national origin, military status, association with a protected class or source of income, or honor or exercise, or attempt to honor or exercise, any such restrictive covenant, provided that the prior inclusion of such a restrictive covenant in the chain of title shall not be deemed a violation of this provision;
(i) Induce or solicit or attempt to induce or solicit a dwelling listing, sale, or transaction by representing that a change has occurred or may occur with respect to racial, religious, sexual or ethnic composition of the block, neighborhood, or area in which the dwelling is located, or induced or solicited 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, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability, familial status, national origin, military status, association with a protected class or source of income, in the area will or may have results such as the following:
(1) The lowering of property values;
(2) A change in the racial, religious, sexual, or ethnic composition of the block, neighborhood, or area in which the dwelling is located;
(3) An increase in criminal or antisocial behavior in the area;
(4) A decline in the quality of the schools serving the area.
(j) Deny any person access to or membership or participation in any multiple-listing service, real estate agents' association, or other service, association, or facility relating to the business of selling or renting housing accommodations, or to discriminate against any person in the terms or conditions of such access, membership, or participation, on account of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability, familial status, national origin, military status, association with a protected class or source of income;
(k) 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;
(l) Discourage or attempt to discourage the purchase by a prospective purchaser of a dwelling, by representing that any block, neighborhood, or area has undergone or might undergo a change with respect to the religious, racial, sexual, familial status or ethnic composition of the block, neighborhood, or area;
(m) Discriminate against any person because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability, familial status, national origin, military status, association with a protected class or source of income, in appraising the value of any dwelling in connection with the sale, brokering, or rental of such dwelling;
(n) Refuse to permit, at the expense of a person with a disability, reasonable modifications of existing premises occupied or to be occupied by such person if such modifications may be necessary to afford such person full enjoyment of the premises, except that, in the case of a rental, no modification need be permitted unless the renter first agrees to restore the interior of the premises to the condition that existed before the modification, reasonable wear and tear excepted unless previously negotiated with the landlord, if it is reasonable for the landlord to condition permission for the proposed modification upon the agreement;
(o) Refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services, when such accommodations may be necessary to afford a person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling;
(p) Construct covered multi-family dwellings that do not provide for accessibility and usability for persons with physical disabilities in compliance with applicable state or Federal law, whichever is controlling;
(q) Discriminate in any manner against any other person because that person has opposed any unlawful practice defined in this chapter, or because that person has made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in any investigation, proceeding, or hearing as provided pursuant to this chapter;
(r) Aid, abet, incite, compel, or coerce the doing of any act declared by this chapter to be an unlawfully discriminatory practice, or to obstruct or prevent any person from complying with the provisions of this chapter, or any order issued pursuant thereto, or to attempt directly or indirectly to commit any act declared by this chapter to be an unlawful discriminatory practice;
(s) Except as otherwise provided in division (s) or (u) of this section, 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, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability, familial status, national origin, military status, or association with a protected class in connection with the sale or lease of any housing accommodations or the loan of any money, whether or not secured by mortgage or otherwise, for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair, or maintenance of housing accommodations. Any person may make inquiries, and make and keep records, concerning race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability, familial status, national origin, military status, association with a protected class or source of income for the purpose of monitoring compliance with this chapter;
(t) Refuse to sell, transfer, assign, rent, lease, sublease, or finance, or otherwise deny or withhold, a burial lot from any person because of the race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability, familial status, national origin, military status, association with a protected class or source of income of any prospective owner or user of the lot;
(u) Except as otherwise provided in this division, make an inquiry to determine whether an applicant for the sale or rental of housing accommodations, a person residing in or intending to reside in the housing accommodations after they are sold, rented, or made available, or any individual associated with that person has a disability, or make an inquiry to determine the nature or severity of a disability of the applicant or such a person or individual. The following inquiries may be made of all applicants for the sale or rental of housing accommodations, regardless of whether they have disabilities:
(1) An inquiry into an applicant's ability to meet the requirements of ownership or tenancy;
(2) An inquiry to determine whether an applicant is qualified for housing accommodations available only to persons with disabilities or persons with a particular type of disability;
(3) An inquiry to determine whether an applicant is qualified for a priority available to persons with disabilities or persons with a particular type of disability;
(4) An inquiry to determine whether an applicant currently uses a controlled substance in violation of R.C. § 2925.11 or a substantively comparable municipal ordinance;
(5) An inquiry to determine whether an applicant at any time has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any offense, an element of which is the illegal sale, offer to sell, cultivation, manufacture, other production, shipment, transportation, delivery, or other distribution of a controlled substance.
(1982 Code, § 743.04) (Ord. 97-07. Passed 2-3-1997; Ord. 2003-34. Passed 9-15-2003; Ord. 2012-11. Passed 4-2-2012; Ord. 2019-16. Passed 4-15-2019.)