[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Fonda 12-28-1998 by L.L. No.
5-1998. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Rental property — See Ch. 119.
For the purpose of providing and ensuring fair housing opportunities
for all within the Village of Fonda, the Village Board of the Village
of Fonda, in the County of Montgomery, State of New York, under general
authority of the General Municipal and Village Laws, hereby 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 indicates
on the contrary:
B.
DISCRIMINATORY HOUSING PRACTICES
DWELLING
FAMILY
PERSON
TO RENT
Specific words or phrases. For the purpose of this chapter, certain
items or words herein shall be interpreted as follows:
Any building, structure or portion thereof which is occupied
as, or designated 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 representative, 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 § 49-6, it shall be unlawful within the Village of Fonda:
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,
creed, color, national original, sexual orientation, military status,
sex, disability, marital status or familial status.
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, creed, color,
national original, sexual orientation, military status, sex, disability,
marital status or familial status.
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, creed, color, national original, sexual
orientation, military status, sex, disability, marital status or familial
status, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or
discrimination.
D.
To represent to any person because of race, creed, color, national
original, sexual orientation, military status, sex, disability, marital
status or familial status that any dwelling is not available for inspection,
sale, 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 representation regarding the entry or prospective
entry into the neighborhood of a person or persons of a particular
race, creed, color, national original, sexual orientation, military
status, sex, disability, marital status or familial status.
It shall be unlawful within the Village of Fonda 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 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, creed, color, national original, sexual orientation, military status, sex, disability, marital status or familial status of such person or 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 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 § 49-6.
It shall be unlawful within the Village of Fonda 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, creed,
color, national original, sexual orientation, military status, sex,
disability, marital status or familial status.
A.
Sales/rentals by owners.
(1)
(a)
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 a time, provided further, that in case of the sale of any such single-family house by a private individual owner not residing in such house at the time of sale or who was not the recent resident of such house 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, 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, mailing, after notice, of any advertisement or written notice in violation of § 49-3 of this chapter; but nothing in this provision shall prohibit the use of attorney, escrow agents, abstractors, title companies and other such professional assistance as may be necessary to perfect or transfer title; or
(b)
Rooms or units in dwellings containing living quarters occupied
or intended to be occupied by not more than four families living independently
of each other, if the owner actually maintains and occupies one of
such living quarters as his residence.
(2)
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 in three
or more transactions involving the sale or rental of any dwelling
or any interest therein; or
(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 designated or intended for occupancy
by, or occupied by, five or more families.
B.
Sales/rental by religious organizations. 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 the sale, rental or occupancy of a dwelling 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, creed,
color, national original, sexual orientation, military status, sex,
disability, marital status or familial status. 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 of occupancy of such lodgings to its members
or from giving preference to its members.[1]
A.
Authority and responsibility. The authority and responsibility for
publicizing and enforcing this chapter shall be the Village's
Fair Housing Officer, to be designated by the Mayor of the Village
of Fonda.
B.
Violations. Violations of this chapter shall reported in person or
in writing to the Village's Fair Housing Officer within a year
of the alleged discriminatory housing practice.
C.
Enforcement. Where sufficient cause exists to believe that the terms
of this chapter have been violated, the Fair Housing Officer shall
institute a suit in court against the alleged violator within 120
days following the issuance of the charge.
Where a person or organization has been found to be in violation
of this chapter, a fine shall be imposed on such person or organization
not to exceed $1,000 for a first offense, $2,000 for a second offense,
and $5,000 for a third offense. The minimum fine for violations of
this chapter shall be $500 for the first offense and $500 for each
additional offense. Each and every separate violation of this chapter
shall be deemed an offense for the purposes of imposing the appropriate
fine.
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.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as "The Village
of Fonda Fair Housing Law."
