[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Fulton 12-28-1993 (Ch. 71 of
the 1991 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "City of
Fulton Fair Housing Law."
For the purpose of providing and ensuring fair housing opportunities
for all within the City of Fulton, the Common Council of the City
of Fulton, in the County of Oswego, State of New York, under the authority
of the General Municipal 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 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.
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 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 § 324-7, it shall be unlawful within the City of Fulton:
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 to make
unavailable or deny a dwelling to any person because of race, color,
religion, sex, handicap, familial status 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, handicap, familial status 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, handicap, familial
status 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,
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, 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, handicap, familial status or national
origin.
It shall be unlawful within the City of Fulton 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, 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 § 324-7.
It shall be unlawful within the City of Fulton 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.
(1)
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 housing 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 § 324-4 of this chapter; but nothing in this provision shall prohibit the use of attorneys, escrow agents, abstracters, title companies and other such professional assistance as may be necessary to perfect or transfer the title.
(2)
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. 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.
(c)
He is the owner of any dwelling designed or intended for occupancy
by or occupied by five or more families.
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 or 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 City's Fair Housing
Officer, designated by the Mayor of the City of Fulton to be the Director
of the City of Fulton Community Development Agency.
Violations of this chapter shall be reported in person or in
writing to the City Fair Housing Officer, the Director of the City
of Fulton Community Development Agency, 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 City 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
and $25,000 for a second offense and $50,000 for third offense. Each
and every separate violation of this chapter shall be deemed an offense
for the purposes of imposing the appropriate fine.
The Common Council 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.