This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Village of Owego
Fair Housing Law."
For the purpose of providing and ensuring fair housing opportunities
for all within the Village of Owego, the Village Board of the Village of Owego
in the County of Tioga, State of New York, under the authority of the General
Municipal and Village Laws, hereby obtains, enacts and publishes this chapter.
Except as exempted by §
114-7, it shall be unlawful within the Village of Owego:
A. To refuse to sell or rent after the making of a bona
fide offer or to 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 or national origin.
B. To 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
or national origin.
C. To make, print or 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 or national origin or an intention to
make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.
D. To represent to any person because of race, color, religion,
sex 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, to 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 of a particular race, color,
religion, sex or national origin.
It shall be unlawful within the Village of Owego 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 the 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 the race, color, religion, sex 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 §
114-7.
It shall be unlawful within the Village of Owego 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 or national origin.
Where a person or organization has been found, after a trial on the
merits, in violation of this chapter, said person or organization shall be
subject to a fine of not more than $250 or to imprisonment for not more than
15 days, or to both such fine and imprisonment. Each and every separate violation
of this chapter shall be deemed an offense for the purposes of imposing the
appropriate fine.
The Village 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.