[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Champlain 10-13-1992 by L.L. No.
8-1992.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fire prevention and building construction — See Ch. 76.
[1]
Editor's Note: The preamble to this local law stated
that the Fair Housing Law is "a law prohibiting discrimination on
the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status
or national origin in the sale, rental, advertising of dwellings,
in the provision of brokerage services or in the availability of residential
real estate related transactions."
For the purpose of providing and ensuring fair housing opportunities
for all within the Town of Champlain, the Town Board of the Town of
Champlain, in the County of Clinton, State of New York, under the
authority of the general Town Law, hereby obtains, enacts and publishes
this chapter.
A.
General. For the purpose of this chapter, certain words or phrases
herein shall be interpreted as follows, except where the context clearly
indicates the contrary: words used in the singular include the plural;
words used in the present tense include the future tense; the word
"person" includes a corporation as well as an individual, and the
word "shall" is always mandatory.
B.
DISCRIMINATORY HOUSING PRACTICE
DWELLING
FAMILY
PERSON
TO RENT
Specific words or phrases. For the purpose of this chapter, certain
terms or words herein shall be interpreted as follows:
Any building, structure or portion thereof which is occupied
as or designed or intended for occupancy as a residence for one or
more families and any vacant land which is offered for sale or lease
for the construction or location thereon of any such building, structure
or portion thereof.
Includes a single individual.
Includes one or more individuals, corporations, partnerships,
associations, labor organizations, legal representatives, mutual companies,
joint-stock companies, trusts, unincorporated organizations, trustees,
trustees in bankruptcy, receivers and fiduciaries.
Includes a lease, sublease, to let and otherwise to grant
for a consideration the right to occupy premises not owned by the
occupant.
Except as exempted by § 72-4, it shall be unlawful within the Town of Champlain to:
A.
Refuse to sell or rent, after the making of a bona fide offer, or
refuse to negotiate for the sale or rental of, or otherwise make unavailable
or deny, a dwelling to any person because of race, color, religion,
sex, handicap, familial status or national origin.
B.
Discriminate against any person in the terms, conditions or privileges
of sale or rental of a dwelling, or in the provision of services or
facilities in connection therewith, because of race, color, religion,
sex, handicap, familial status or national origin.
C.
Make, print, publish or cause to be made, printed or published any
notice, statement or advertisement with respect to the sale or rental
of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation or discrimination
based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or
national origin, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation
or discrimination.
D.
Represent to any person because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap,
familial status or national origin that any dwelling is not available
for inspection, sale or rental when such dwelling is in fact so available.
E.
For profit, induce or attempt to induce any person to sell or rent
any dwelling by representations regarding the entry or prospective
entry into the neighborhood of a person or persons or a particular
race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national
origin.
It shall be unlawful within the Town of Champlain for any bank, building and loan association, insurance company or other corporation, association, firm or enterprise whose business consists in whole or in part in making of commercial real estate loans to deny a loan or other financial assistance to a person applying therefor for the purpose of purchasing, constructing, improving, repairing or maintaining a dwelling; or to discriminate against him in the fixing of the amount, interest rate, duration or other terms or conditions of such loan or other financial assistance because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin of such person or of any person associated with him in connection with such loan or other financial assistance, or the purposes of such loan or other financial assistance, or of the present or prospective owners, lessees, tenants or occupants of the dwelling or dwellings in relation to which such loan or other financial assistance is to be made or given, provided that nothing contained in this section shall impair the scope or effectiveness of the exception contained in § 72-6.
It shall be unlawful within the Town of Champlain to deny any
person access to or membership or participation in any multiple-listing
service, real estate broker's organization or other service,
organization or facility relating to the business of selling or renting
dwellings or to discriminate against him in the terms or conditions
of such access, membership or participation on account of race, color,
religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin.
A.
Sales/rentals by owners.
[Amended 8-10-1993 by L.L. No. 6-1993]
(1)
(a)
Any single-family house sold or rented by an owner, provided that such private individual owner does not own more than three such single-family houses at any one time, provided further that, in the case of the sale of any such single-family house by a private individual owner not residing in such house at the time of such sale or who was not the recent resident of such house prior to such sale, the exception granted by this subsection shall apply only with respect to one such sale within any twenty-four-month period, provided further that such bona fide private individual owner does not own any interest in, nor is there owned or reserved on his behalf under any express or voluntary agreement, title to any right to all or a portion of the proceeds from the sale or rental of more than three such single-family houses at one time, provided further that the sale or rental of any such single-family house shall be excepted from the application of this chapter only if such house is sold or rented without the use in any manner of the sales or rental facilities or the sales or rental services of any real estate broker, agent or salesman or of such facilities or services of any person in the business of selling or renting dwellings or of any employee or agent of any such broker, agent, salesman or person; and without the publication, posting or mailing, after notice, of any advertisement or written notice in violation of § 72-3C of this chapter, but nothing in this provision shall prohibit the use of attorneys, escrow agents, abstractors, title companies and other such professional assistance as may be necessary to perfect or transfer the title.
(b)
Rooms or units in dwellings containing living quarters occupied
or intended to be occupied by more than four families living independently
of each other, if the owner actually maintains and occupies one of
such living quarters as his residence.
(2)
For the purpose of this exemption, a person shall be deemed to be
in the business of selling or renting dwellings if:
(a)
He has, within the preceding 12 months, participated as principal
in three or more transactions involving the sale or rental of any
dwelling or any interest therein;
(b)
He has, within the preceding 12 months, participated as agent,
other than in the sale of his own personal residence, in providing
sales or rental facilities or sales or rental services in two or more
transactions involving the sale or rental of any dwelling or any interest
therein; or
(c)
He is the owner of any dwelling designed or intended for occupancy
by or occupied by five or more families.
B.
Sales/rentals by religious organizations. Nothing in this chapter
shall prohibit a religious organization, association or 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 giving preference to such persons, unless
membership in such religion is restricted on account of race, color,
sex, handicap, familial status or national origin. Nor shall anything
in this chapter 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 of occupancy of such lodgings to its members or
from giving preference to its members.
The authority and responsibility for publicizing, administering
and enforcing this chapter shall be in the Town's Fair Housing
Officer, to be designated by the Supervisor of the Town of Champlain.
Violations of this chapter shall be reported in person or in
writing to the Town's Attorney/Fair Housing Officer within a
year of the alleged discriminatory housing practice.
Where sufficient cause exists to believe that the terms of this
chapter have been violated, the Fair Housing Officer shall institute
a suit in Town Court against the alleged violator within 120 days
following the issuance of the charge.
Where a person or organization has been found, after a trial
on the merits, in violation of this chapter, a fine shall be imposed
on such person or organization not to exceed $10,000 for a first offense,
$25,000 for a second offense and $50,000 for a third offense. The
minimum fine for violations of this chapter shall be $5,000 for the
first offense and $500 for each additional offense. Each and every
separate violation of this chapter shall be deemed an offense for
the purposes of imposing the appropriate fine.
The Town Board may, on its own initiative or on petition, amend,
supplement or repeal the provisions of this chapter in conformity
with applicable law after public notice and hearing.
In their interpretation and application, the provisions of this
chapter shall be held to be minimum requirements adopted for the promotion
of the public health, morals, safety or the general welfare. Whenever
the requirements of this chapter are at variance with the requirements
of any other lawfully adopted rules, regulations or ordinances, the
most restrictive or that imposing the highest standards shall govern.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Town of
Champlain's Fair Housing Law."