As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
DISCRIMINATION/DISCRIMINATORY HOUSING PRACTICE
Any difference in treatment based upon sex, race, color,
sexual orientation, disability, religion, national origin, marital
status, family status, status as a victim of domestic abuse, sexual
assault, or stalking, lawful source of income, age or ancestry or
any act that is unlawful under this chapter.
DWELLING
Any building, structure, or portion thereof which is occupied
as, or designed for occupancy as, a residence by one or more families,
and any vacant land which is offered for sale or lease for the construction
thereon of any such buildings or structure.
FAMILY
One or more individuals, corporations, partnerships, associations,
labor organizations, legal representatives, mutual companies, joint-stock
companies, trusts, unincorporated organizations, trustees, trustees
in bankruptcy and receivers.
FINANCIAL INSTITUTION
Any person as defined herein engaged in the business of lending
money or guaranteeing loans.
HOUSING ACCOMMODATION
Any building, mobile home or trailer, 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 real property, as defined herein, used or intended to be used
for any of the purposes set forth in this definition.
MORTGAGE BROKER
An individual who is engaged in or who performs the business
or services of a mortgage broker as defined by Wisconsin Statutes.
OPEN MARKET
The market which is informed of the availability for sale,
purchase, rental or lease of any housing accommodation, whether informed
through a real estate broker or by advertising by publication, signs
or by any other advertising methods directed to the public or any
portion thereof, indicating that the property is available for sale,
purchase, rental or lease.
OWNER
Lessee, sublessee, cotenant, assignee, managing agent or
other person having the right of ownership or possession, or the right
to sell, rent or lease any housing accommodation.
PERSON
Individuals, children, firms, associations, joint ventures,
partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries,
corporations and all other groups or combinations.
REAL ESTATE BROKER/REAL ESTATE SALESMAN
Any individual qualified by law who, for a fee, commission,
salary or for other valuable consideration, or who with the intention
or expectation of receiving or collecting same, lists, sells, purchases,
rents or leases any housing accommodations, including options thereupon,
or who negotiates or attempts to negotiate a loan, secured by a mortgage
or other encumbrance, upon transfer of any housing accommodation,
or who is engaged in the business of charging an advance fee or contracting
for collection of a fee in connection with a contract whereby he/she
undertakes to promote the sale, purchase, rental or lease of any housing
accommodation through its listing in a publication issued primarily
for such purpose, or an individual employed by or acting on behalf
of any of these.
REAL PROPERTY
Buildings, structures, lands, tenements, leaseholds, cooperatives
and condominiums.
In connection with any of the transactions set forth in this
section which affect any housing accommodation on the open market,
or in connection with any public sale, purchase, rental or lease of
any accommodation, it shall be unlawful within the Village:
A. For a person,
owner, financial institution, real estate broker or real estate salesman,
or any representative of the above, to:
(1) Refuse to sell, purchase, rent or lease or deny to or withhold any
housing accommodation from a person because of his sex, race, color,
sexual orientation, disability, religion, national origin, marital
status, family status, status as a victim of domestic abuse, sexual
assault, or stalking, lawful source of income, age or ancestry;
(2) Discriminate against a person in the terms, conditions or privileges
of the sale, purchase, rental or lease of any housing accommodation
or in the furnishing of facilities or services in connection therewith;
(3) Refuse to receive or transmit a bona fide offer to sell, purchase,
rent or lease any housing accommodation from or to a person because
of his sex, race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religion,
national origin, marital status, family status, status as a victim
of domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking, lawful source of income,
age or ancestry;
(4) Refuse to negotiate for the sale, purchase, rental or lease of any
housing accommodation with a person because of his sex, race, color,
sexual orientation, disability, religion, national origin, marital
status, family status, status as a victim of domestic abuse, sexual
assault, or stalking, lawful source of income, age or ancestry;
(5) Represent to a person that any housing accommodation is not available
for inspection, sale, purchase, rental or lease when in fact it is
so available, or to refuse to permit a person to inspect any housing
accommodation, because of his/her sex, race, color, sexual orientation,
disability, religion, national origin, marital status, family status,
status as a victim of domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking,
lawful source of income, age or ancestry;
(6) Make, publish, print, circulate, post or mail, or cause to be made,
published, printed, circulated, posted, or mailed, any notice, statement
or advertisement, or to announce a policy or to sign or to use a form
of application for the sale, purchase, rental, lease or financing
of any housing accommodation, or to make a record of inquiry in connection
with the prospective sale, purchase, rental, lease or financing of
any housing accommodation, which indicates any discrimination or any
intent to make a discrimination;
(7) Offer, solicit, accept or use a list of any housing accommodation
for sale, purchase, rental or lease with the understanding that a
person may be subjected to discrimination in connection with such
sale, purchase, rental or lease or in the furnishing of facilities
or services in connection therewith;
(8) Induce, directly or indirectly, or attempt to induce, directly or
indirectly, the sale, purchase, rental or lease, or the listing for
any of the above, of any housing accommodation by representing that
the presence or anticipated presence of persons of any particular
sex, race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religion, national
origin, marital status, family status, status as a victim of domestic
abuse, sexual assault, or stalking, lawful source of income, age or
ancestry in the area to be affected by such sale, purchase, rental
or lease will or may result in either:
(a)
The lowering of property values in the area;
(b)
An increase in criminal or antisocial behavior in the area;
or
(c)
A decline in the quality of schools serving the area;
(9) Make any misrepresentations concerning the listing for sale, purchase,
rental or lease, or the anticipated listing of any of the above, or
the sale, purchase, rental or lease of any housing accommodation in
any area in the Village for the purpose of inducing or attempting
to induce any such listing for any of the above transactions;
(10)
Engage in or hire to be done, or to conspire with others to
commit acts or activities of any nature, the purpose of which is to
coerce, cause panic, incite unrest or create or play upon fear, with
the purpose of either discouraging or inducing, or attempting to induce,
the sale, purchase, rental or lease, or the listing for any of the
above, of any housing accommodation;
(11)
Retaliate or discriminate in any manner against a person because
he/she has opposed a practice declared unlawful by this chapter, or
because he/she has filed a complaint, testified, or assisted or participated
in any manner in any investigation, proceeding, hearing or conference
under this chapter;
(12)
Aid, abet, incite, compel or coerce any person to engage in
any of the practices prohibited by this chapter or to obstruct or
prevent any person from complying with the provisions of this chapter
or any orders issued thereunder;
(13)
By canvassing, commit any unlawful practices prohibited by this
chapter;
(14)
Otherwise deny to or withhold any housing accommodation from
a person because of his/her sex, race, color, sexual orientation,
disability, religion, national origin, marital status, family status,
status as a victim of domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking,
lawful source of income, age or ancestry; or
(15)
Deny any qualified person access to or membership or participation
in any multiple-listing service, real estate brokers organization,
or other service organization or facility relating to the business
of selling or renting dwellings, or to discriminate against him/her
in the terms or conditions of such access, membership, or participation,
on account of sex, race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religion,
national origin, marital status, family status, status as a victim
of domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking, lawful source of income,
age or ancestry.
B. 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 loans
or other financial assistance because of the sex, race, color, sexual
orientation, disability, religion, national origin, marital status,
family status, status as a victim of domestic abuse, sexual assault,
or stalking, lawful source of income, age or ancestry of such person
or of any person associated with him/her in connection with such loan
or other financial assistance or the purposes of such loan or other
financial assistance which is to be made or given.
This chapter shall not apply to:
A. A religious organization, association, or society, or any nonprofit
institution or organization operating, supervised, or controlled by
or in conjunction with a religious organization, association, or society,
which limits the sale, rental, or occupancy of dwellings which it
owns or operates for other than commercial purposes to persons of
the same religion, or which gives preference to such persons, unless
membership in such religion is restricted on account of sex, race,
color, sexual orientation, disability, national origin, marital status,
family status, status as a victim of domestic abuse, sexual assault,
or stalking, lawful source of income, age or ancestry.
B. 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 and which limits the
rental or occupancy of such lodgings to its members or gives preference
to its members.
C. 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 not residing
in such house at the time of such sale or who was not the most recent
resident of such house prior to such sale, the exemption 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 served on his/her behalf, under any express or voluntary
agreement, title to or any right to all or a portion of the proceeds
from the sale or rental of more than three such single-family houses
at any one time; and 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:
(1) 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;
(2) Without the publication, posting or mailing, after notice, of any
advertisement or written notice in violation of the provisions of
42 U.S.C. § 3604; and
(3) Without the violation of §
180-3 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 necessary to perfect or transfer the title.
D. 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/her residence.
Any person aggrieved by an unlawful practice prohibited by this
chapter may file a complaint with the Village Board within 30 days
after the aggrieved person becomes aware of the alleged unlawful practice
and in no event more than 60 days after the alleged unlawful practice
has occurred. The Village Board or duly authorized representative
shall receive each complaint and attempt to resolve each complaint.
Failure to achieve a resolution acceptable to both parties and compliance
with this chapter shall cause the Village Board to forward the complaint
and findings to appropriate state and federal agencies.
Violation of this chapter shall be subject to a forfeiture as
prescribed in § 106.50, Wis. Stats.