[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Hudson
Falls 5-20-1991 by L.L. No. 1-1991. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Amended 5-17-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993]
It is the policy of the Village of Hudson Falls in the exercise of its
police power for the public health, safety and general welfare to assure that
all persons have equal opportunity for housing choices without regard to race,
color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin and to
prohibit all forms of discrimination which are contrary to this objective.
[Amended 5-17-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993]
A.
General. For the purpose of this chapter, certain words
or phrases herein shall be interpreted as follows: except where the context
clearly indicates otherwise, 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 by 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.
A single individual.
Any individual, corporation, partnership, association, labor organization,
legal representative, mutual company, joint-stock company, trust, unincorporated
organization, trustee, trustee in bankruptcy, receiver or fiduciary.
To lease, to sublease, to let and otherwise to grant for a consideration
the right to occupy premises not owned by the occupant.
Except as exempted by § 102-6, it shall be unlawful within the Village of Hudson Falls to:
A.
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, handicap, family 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, family status or national origin;
C.
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, handicap, family 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, family status or national origin that any dwelling is not available
for inspection, sale or rental when such dwelling is in fact so available;
or
E.
Induce or attempt to induce, for profit, 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, handicap, family status or national origin.
It shall be unlawful within the Village of Hudson Falls to:
A.
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
B.
Discriminate against any person in the terms or conditions
of such access, membership or participation on account of race, color, religion,
sex, handicap, family status or national origin.
[Amended 5-17-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993]
A.
It shall be unlawful within the Village of Hudson Falls
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:
(1)
Deny a loan or other financial assistance to a person
applying therefor for the purpose of purchasing, constructing, improving,
repairing or maintaining a dwelling because of race, color, religion, sex,
handicap, familial status or national origin.
(2)
Discriminate against any person 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, 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 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.
[Amended 5-17-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993]
A.
Sales/rentals by owners.
(1)
Nothing in § 102-3 (other than Subsection C) shall apply to any single-family house sold or rented by an owner, provided that:
(a)
Such private individual owner does not own more than
three such single-family houses at one time;
(b)
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, the exception granted by this subsection shall apply only with respect
to one such sale within any twenty-four-month period;
(c)
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; and
(d)
The sale or rental or 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 § 102-3 of this chapter, but nothing in this proviso 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.
(2)
Nothing in § 102-3 (other than Subsection C) shall apply to rooms or units in dwellings containing living quarters occupied or intended to be occupied by no more than four families living independently of each other, if the owner actually maintains and occupies one of such living quarters as his residence.
(3)
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.
(1)
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.
(2)
Nothing in this chapter shall 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 or occupancy of such lodgings
to its members or from giving preference to its members.
[Amended 5-17-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993]
The Fair Housing Officer shall have the authority and responsibility
for publicizing, administering and enforcing this chapter.
[Amended 5-17-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993]
The following procedure shall be used when a situation is identified
which might be a violation of this chapter:
A.
The Fair Housing Officer shall respond to all inquiries
regarding the applicability of the local Fair Housing Law and all applicable
state or federal law and shall maintain documentation of such activities detailing
the source of the inquiry, the nature of the problems identified and any actions
taken.
B.
Whenever a possible violation of the local Fair Housing
Law is identified, the Fair Housing Officer shall accept a complaint on a
Form HUD-903 and initiate an investigation, as follows:
(1)
Within two weeks after receiving a formal complaint,
the Fair Housing Officer shall conduct an investigation and, to the extent
possible, verify the circumstances involved.
(2)
The Fair Housing Officer will inform the owner, realtor,
financier or their agents or other responsible parties that a formal complaint
has been filed under the Fair Housing Law and that an investigation is in
process.
(3)
The Fair Housing Officer will attempt to resolve the
problem by discussions between the parties involved in each complaint. If
these efforts succeed and the complaint is resolved within 30 days, the case
will be held open for six months and then closed if a final check verifies
that there is no further problem or complaint regarding that case.
(4)
If the original complaint is not resolved within 30 days,
the matter will be referred to the United States Department of Housing and
Urban Development for further action under Title VIII of the Civil Rights
Act of 1968, as amended.
C.
Where sufficient cause is found to show that the provisions
of the local Fair Housing Law have been violated, the Fair Housing Officer
may file suit against the violator in Village Court and seek any remedies
or penalties permitted by law.
[Amended 5-17-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993; 10-12-2004
by L.L. No. 6-2004]
Any person who has been found to be in violation of this chapter, after
trial in Village Court, may be subject to a fine not exceeding $250 or imprisonment
for a period not exceeding 15 days, or both, for conviction of a first offense;
for conviction of a second offense, both of which were committed within a
period of three years, punishable by a fine of not less than $250 nor more
than $500 or imprisonment for a period not to exceed 30 days, or both; and
upon conviction for a third offense or subsequent offense, all of which were
committed within a period of five years, punishable by a fine of not less
than $500 nor more than $750 or imprisonment for a period not to exceed 60
days, or both. For the purpose of this section, each separate violation shall
be deemed a separate offense.
[Amended 5-17-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993]
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.
[Amended 5-17-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993]
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.
[Amended 5-17-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Village of Hudson
Falls Fair Housing Law."
