This Code shall be known and may be cited as the "Fair Housing
Code of the Village."
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Village and the
purpose of this Code, in the exercise by the Village of its police
and regulatory powers for the protection of the public safety for
the health, morals, safety, and welfare of the persons in and residing
in the Village, and for the maintenance and promotion of commerce,
industry and good government in the Village, to secure to all persons
living or desiring to live in the Village a fair opportunity to purchase,
lease, rent, or occupy housing without discrimination based on race,
color, religion or national origin.
This Code shall be construed according to the fair import of its terms and shall be liberally construed to further the purposes and policy stated in Section 13-1-2 and the special purposes of the particular provision involved.
For the purposes of this Code:
Means any building or structure, or portion thereof, within
the Village which is arranged, designed or used as a home, residence
or living quarters of one or more individuals.
Includes any building or structure, or portion thereof, within
the Village, which is used or occupied or is intended, arranged or
designed to be used or occupied as the home, residence or living quarters
of one or more individuals, groups or families, and includes any vacant
land within the Village which is zoned and intended to be used for
the construction of any such building or structure.
Includes sublease, assignment, and rent (or rental), and
includes any contract to do any of the foregoing.
Means any bank, insurance company, savings and loan association,
other person in the business of lending money or guaranteeing loans,
any person in the business of obtaining, arranging or negotiating
loans or guarantees as agent or broker, and any person in the business
of buying or selling loans or instruments for the payment of money
which are secured by title to a security interest in real estate,
but shall not include any religious institution or organization nor
any charitable or educational organization operated, supervised or
controlled by a religious institution or organization.
Includes the national origin of an ancestor.
Means any person who holds legal or equitable title to, or
owns any beneficial interest in, any dwelling or housing, or who holds
legal or equitable title to shares of, or holds any beneficial interest
in, any real estate cooperative which owns any dwelling or housing.
Includes one or more individuals, corporations, partnerships,
associations, legal representatives, mutual companies, unincorporated
organizations, trusts, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy, receivers
and fiduciaries.
Includes any contract to purchase.
Means any real estate broker, and real estate salesman, and
any other person who, as employee or agent or otherwise, engages in
the management or operation of any dwelling or housing.
Means any person licensed as a real estate broker in accordance
with the provisions of the Illinois Compiled Statutes, or required
thereby to be so licensed. (See 225 ILCS 455/1 et seq.)
Means any person licensed as a real estate salesman in accordance
with the provisions of the Illinois Compiled Statutes, or required
thereby to be so licensed.
Means the purchase, sale, exchange, or lease of any dwelling
or housing, and an option to do any of the foregoing.
Includes any contract to sell, exchange, or to convey, transfer
or assign legal or equitable title to or a beneficial interest in
real estate.
It shall be an unlawful housing practice and a violation of
this Code for any owner or other person to sell or lease a dwelling
or housing on terms, conditions or privileges that discriminate between
persons because of race, color, religion or national origin.
It shall be an unlawful housing practice and a violation of
this Code for any owner or other person to refuse to negotiate for,
enter into, or perform any sale or lease of any dwelling or housing,
because of the race, color, religion or national origin of any party,
to such sale or lease, or of any member of the family of any such
party, or of any person using or occupying or intending to use or
occupy such dwelling or housing, or of any person using or occupying
any dwelling or housing in the area in which such dwelling or housing
is located.
It shall be an unlawful housing practice and a violation of
this Code for any owner or other person to represent to any person
that any dwelling or housing is not available for inspection, purchase,
sale, lease, or occupancy when in fact it is so available, or otherwise
to withhold housing from any person because of race, color, religion
or national origin.
It shall be an unlawful housing practice and a violation of
this Code for any owner or other person to publish or circulate a
statement, advertisement or notice of an intention to sell or lease
any dwelling or housing in a manner that is unlawful under this Code.
It shall be an unlawful housing practice and a violation of
this Code for any owner or other person to cause any person to circulate
or publish a statement, advertisement or notice that such owner or
other person intends to sell or lease any dwelling or housing in a
manner that is unlawful under this chapter, or to consent thereto.
It shall be an unlawful housing practice and a violation of
this Code for any owner or other person to post or erect, or cause
any person to post or erect, any sign or notice upon any dwelling
or housing, indicating an intent to sell or lease any dwelling or
housing in a manner that is unlawful under this chapter.
This Code shall not apply to the rental of any room or dwelling
unit in any owner-occupied dwelling which consists of more than one
but less than five dwelling units. As used herein, the term "dwelling
unit" means one or more rooms which are arranged, designed, or used
as living quarters for one family or one individual. The term owner
includes the spouse or any lineal descendant or ancestor of the owner.
Nothing in this Code shall require an owner to offer property
to the public at large before selling or renting it, providing he
complies with all other provisions of this Code. Nor shall this Code
be deemed to prohibit owners from giving preference to prospective
tenants or buyers for any reason other than religion, race, color
or national origin. Nothing in this Code shall require an owner to
offer property for sale or lease or to show his property to any person
if such person is not negotiating for the purchase or lease of such
property in good faith.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Section 13-1-13, withholding housing,
was repealed 9-27-2010 by Ord. No. 10-5.
It shall be an unlawful housing practice and a violation of
this Code for any real estate agent or other person to refuse to receive
or to fail to transmit a bona fide offer for the purchase, sale, exchange
or lease of any dwelling or housing because of the race, color, religion
or national origin of the person making such offer.
It shall be an unlawful housing practice and a violation of
this Code for any real estate agent or other person to publish or
circulate a statement, advertisement or notice of an intention to
sell or lease any dwelling or housing in a manner that is unlawful
under this Code.
It shall be an unlawful housing practice and a violation of
this Code for any real estate agent or other person to post or erect,
or cause or permit any person to post or erect, any sign or notice
upon any dwelling or housing, other person, indicating an intent to
sell or lease any dwelling or housing in a manner that is unlawful
under this Code.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Section 13-1-17, Licensing, was
repealed 9-27-2010 by Ord. No. 10-5.
It shall be an unlawful housing practice and a violation of
this Code for any lending institution, in making, agreeing to make,
arranging, or negotiating any loan or guarantee of funds for the purpose
of financing the purchase or sale, construction, lease, rehabilitation,
improvement, renovation or repair of any dwelling or housing, to offer,
seek or agree to terms, conditions or privileges that discriminate
between persons because of race, color, religion or national origin.
It shall be an unlawful housing practice and a violation of
this Code for any lending institution to refuse to negotiate for,
enter into or perform any agreement to lend or guarantee the loan
of funds for the purchase, sale, construction, lease, rehabilitation,
improvement, renovation or repair of any dwelling or housing because
of the race, color, religion or national origin of any party to such
agreement or of any member of the family of any such party, or of
the residents of the area in which such dwelling or housing is located.
This Code shall apply, respectively, to every real estate agent
who, within the Village, performs any function as such real estate
agent but does not maintain an office or place of doing business within
the Village, and this Code applies to every real estate agent and
lending institution who maintains an office of place of doing business
within the Village; provided, however, that the provisions of this
Code shall not be so construed as to prohibit a real estate broker
or real estate agent on behalf of the owner, from inquiring into and
reporting upon qualifications of any prospective buyer or tenant with
respect to limitations or exclusions other than those of race, color,
religion or national origin.
It shall be an unlawful housing practice and a violation of
this Code for any person, for the purpose of inducing any other person
to enter into a real estate transaction with such person, his principal
or his agent.
(A)
To represent that a change has occurred, will occur or may occur
with respect to the race, color, religion or national origin in composition
of the owners or occupants in any block, neighborhood or area in which
the dwelling or housing (which is the subject of the real estate transaction)
is located, or
(B)
To represent that a change with respect to the race, color, religion
or national origin in the composition of the owners or occupants in
any block, neighborhood or area will result in lowering of property
values, or in an increase in criminal or antisocial behavior, or in
a decline in the quality of schools, in such block, neighborhood or
area.
It shall be an unlawful housing practice and a violation of
this Code for any person:
(A)
To aid, abet, incite, or coerce a person to engage in unlawful housing
practice;
(B)
Willfully to interfere with the performance of a duty or the exercise
of a power by the Village Board or one of its members or representatives;
or
(C)
Willfully to obstruct or prevent a person from complying with the
provisions of this Code or an order issued thereunder.
(A)
Any person aggrieved in any manner by a violation of any provisions
of this Code may file with the Village Board a written verified complaint
setting forth his grievance. The complaint shall state:
(1)
The name and address of the complaint;
(2)
The name and address of the person against whom the complaint
is brought, if known to the complainant; and
(3)
The alleged facts surrounding the alleged violation of this
Code; and such complaint shall state the name and address of all persons
believed to have knowledge concerning the alleged facts.
(B)
After the filing of any complaint, the Village Board shall serve
a copy of the complaint on the party or parties charged.
(A)
Such hearing shall be conducted by the Village Board upon due and
reasonable notice to all parties. The Village Board shall have power
to administer oaths and to take sworn testimony. Any party alleged
to have violated this Code shall be entitled to be represented by
counsel and shall have the right to call witnesses in his own behalf
and to cross-examine witnesses.
(B)
At the conclusion of such hearing, the Village Board shall render
the complainant a decision.
(A)
The Village Board shall be empowered to order any person found to
be engaging in an unfair housing practice to cease and desist from
such practice, upon such terms as shall be necessary and proper for
the enforcement of this Code.
(B)
The Village Board shall be empowered at the conclusion of proceedings held under Section 13-1-24, to direct the Village Attorney to do any one or more of the following:
(1)
To institute and prosecute proceedings to enforce, against any person found in violation of this Code, the fine provided for in Section 13-1-27 below;
(3)
To petition or institute proceedings with the Department of
Registration and Education for the purpose of causing the Department
to revoke, suspend or refuse to renew the license granted by such
Department to any real estate broker or real estate salesman found
to have violated any provision of this Code.
(4)
In the case of any unlawful housing practice or violation of
this Code by any person in the course of performing under a contract
or subcontract with the State or any political subdivision or agency
thereof, or with the United States of America or any agency or instrumentality
thereof, to petition or institute proceedings with such contracting
agency for the purpose of causing it to terminate such contract or
any portion thereof, either absolutely or on condition of compliance
with the provisions of this Code.
(C)
The Village Board may issue such cease and desist orders and may
direct such action by the Village Attorney, as shall be necessary
for the enforcement of this Code.
Any person aggrieved in any manner by the violation of any provision of this Code who has exhausted the remedies provided in Section 13-1-24 of this Code may apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for appropriate relief from such violation, including:
(A)
An order compelling compliance with this Code;
(B)
An order to prohibit any person found by the court to have violated
any provision of this Code from the sale, lease, exchange, transfer,
conveyance or assignment of any dwelling or housing which is the subject
of such violation;
(C)
An order requiring specific performance of any contract for the sale,
lease, exchange, transfer, conveyance or assignment of any dwelling
or housing or any person who, in violation of this Code, refuses or
fails to perform such contract;
(D)
Compensatory damages; and
(E)
Such other and further relief as may seem to the court appropriate
for the enforcement of this Code and the elimination of violations
hereof.
Any person who violates any provision of this Code shall be
subject to a fine not to exceed $500.
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(See ILCS 5/11-11.1-1.)
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