[Code 1974 § 1-104; Code 1985 § 11-16;
Code 2005 § 54-31]
The general purposes of this article are:
(1) To secure for all people equal access to housing in all neighborhoods;
and
(2) To preserve the public safety, health and welfare.
[Code 2005 § 54-32]
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article,
shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where
the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
BOARD
The fair housing board.
COMPLAINANT
A person, the commission, or the attorney general, who files a complaint pursuant to section §
11-7.
CONCILIATION
The attempted resolution of issues raised by a complaint
or by the investigation of the complaint, through informal negotiations
involving the aggrieved person, the respondent, and the board.
DWELLING
(1)
Any building, structure, or part of a building or structure
that is occupied as, or designed or intended for occupancy as, a residency
by one or more families; or
(2)
Any vacant land that is offered for sale or lease for the construction or location of a building, structure, or part of a building or structure as described by Subsection
(1) of this definition.
FAMILY
Includes a single individual.
HANDICAP
A mental or physical impairment that substantially limits
at least one major life activity, when there is a record of such an
impairment, or the individual is regarded as having such an impairment.
The term does not include current illegal use of or addiction to any
drug or illegal or federally controlled substance. For purposes of
this article, the term "an individual with a handicap" or "handicap"
does not apply to an individual because of sexual orientation or the
sexual preference of the individual or because that individual is
transsexual.
PERSON
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, the state, and all political
subdivisions and agencies thereof.
PERSON AGGRIEVED
Any person who:
(1)
Claims to have been injured by a discriminatory housing practice;
or
(2)
Believes that he will be injured by a discriminatory housing
practice that is about to occur.
RESPONDENT
The person accused of a violation of this article in a complaint
of a discriminatory housing practice.
RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS
Any specification limiting the transfer, rental, or lease
of any dwelling because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin,
age, handicap or familial status.
TO RENT
Includes to lease, to sublease, to let, or to otherwise grant
for a consideration the right to occupy premises not owned by the
occupant.
[Code 2005 § 54-33]
For the purposes of this article, a discriminatory act is committed
because of familial status only if the act is committed because the
person who is the subject of discrimination is:
(2) Domiciled with an individual less than 18 years of age in regard
to whom the person:
a. Is the parent or legal custodian;
b. Has the written permission of the parent or legal custodian for domicile
with that person; or
(3) In the process of obtaining legal custody of an individual less than
18 years of age.
[Code 1974 § 1-105; Code 1985 § 11-17;
Code 2005 § 54-34]
A. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory housing practice for any person,
or any agent or employee of such person:
(1) 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 any housing, or
otherwise make unavailable or deny any housing because of race, color,
religion, gender, national origin, age, familial status, or handicap;
(2) To discriminate against any person in the terms, conditions, or privileges
of sale or rental of housing, or in the provision of services or facilities
in connection with any housing because of race, color, religion, gender,
national origin, age, familial status, or handicap;
(3) To make, print, publish, or cause to be made, printed, or published
any notice, statement, or advertisement, with respect to the sale
or rental of housing that indicates any preference, limitation, discrimination,
or intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination
because of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, familial
status, or handicap;
(4) To represent to any person, for reasons of discrimination, that any
housing is not available for inspection, sale, or rental when such
housing is in fact so available because of race, color, religion,
gender, national origin, age, familial status, or handicap;
(5) To deny any person access to, or membership or participation in,
a multiple-listing service, real estate brokers' organization
or other service, organization, or facility relating to the business
of selling or renting dwellings, or discriminate against a person
in the terms or conditions of access, membership, or participation
in such an organization, service, or facility because of race, color,
religion, gender, national origin, age, familial status, or handicap;
(6) To include in any transfer, sale, rental, or lease of housing any
restrictive covenant that discriminates, or for any person to honor
or exercise, or attempt to honor or exercise, any discriminatory covenant
pertaining to housing because of race, color, religion, gender, national
origin, age, familial status, or handicap;
(7) To refuse to consider the income of both applicants when both applicants
seek to buy or lease housing because of race, color, religion, gender,
national origin, age, familial status, or handicap;
(8) To refuse to consider as a valid source of income any public assistance,
alimony, or child support, awarded by a court, when that source can
be verified as to its amount, length of time received, regularity,
or receipt because of race, color, religion, gender, national origin,
age, familial status, or handicap;
(9) To discriminate against a person in the terms, conditions, or privileges
relating to the obtaining or use of financial assistance for the acquisition,
construction, rehabilitation, repair, or maintenance of any housing
because of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, familial
status, or handicap;
(10) To discharge, demote, or discriminate in matters of compensation
or working conditions against any employee or agent because of the
obedience of such employee or agent to the provisions of this section;
(11) To solicit or attempt to solicit the listing of housing for sale
or lease, by door to door solicitation, in person, or by telephone,
or by distribution of circulars, if one of the purposes is to change
the racial composition of the neighborhood;
(12) To knowingly induce or attempt to induce another person to transfer
an interest in real property, or to discourage another person from
purchasing real property, by representations regarding the existing
or potential proximity of real property owned, used, or occupied by
persons of any particular race, color, religion, gender, national
origin, age, familial status or handicap, or to represent that such
existing or potential proximity shall or may result in:
a. The lowering of property values;
b. A change in the racial, religious, or ethnic character of the block,
neighborhood, or area in which the property is located;
c. An increase in criminal or antisocial behavior in the area; or
d. A decline in quality of the schools serving the area;
(13) To refuse to rent or lease housing to a blind, deaf, or handicapped
person on the basis of the person's use or possession of a bona
fide, properly trained guide, signal, or service dog;
(14) To demand the payment of an additional nonrefundable fee or an unreasonable
deposit for rent from a blind, deaf, or handicapped person for such
dog. Such blind, deaf, or handicapped person may be liable for any
damage done to the dwelling by such dog;
(15) _____
a. To discriminate in the sale or rental or otherwise make available
or deny a dwelling to any buyer or renter because of a handicap of:
2.
A person residing in or intending to reside in that dwelling
after it is sold, rented, or made available; or
3.
Any person associated with that buyer or renter;
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 with the dwelling because of a handicap of:
2.
A person residing in or intending to reside in that dwelling
after it is so sold, rented, or made available; or
3.
Any person associated with that person;
(16) For purposes of handicap discrimination in housing pursuant to this
article, discrimination includes:
a. A refusal to permit, at the expense of the handicapped person, reasonable
modifications of existing premises occupied or to be occupied by the
person if the modifications may be necessary to afford the person
full enjoyment of the premises, provided that such person also provides
a surety bond guaranteeing restoration of the premises to their prior
condition, if necessary to make the premises suitable for nonhandicapped
tenants;
b. A refusal to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices,
or services, when the accommodations may be necessary to afford the
person equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling; or
c. In connection with the design and construction of covered multifamily
dwellings for first occupancy 30 months after the date of enactment
of the federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (Public Law 100-430),
a failure to design and construct those dwellings in a manner that:
1.
The public use and common use portions of the dwellings are
readily accessible to and usable by handicapped persons;
2.
All the doors designed to allow passage into and within all
premises within the dwellings are sufficiently wide to allow passage
by handicapped persons in wheelchairs; and
3.
All premises within the dwellings contain the following features
of adaptive design:
i.
An accessible route into and through the dwelling;
ii.
Light switches, electrical outlets, thermostats, and other environmental
controls in accessible locations;
iii.
Reinforcements in bathroom walls to allow later installation
of grab bars; and
iv.
Usable kitchen and bathrooms so that an individual in a wheelchair
can maneuver about the space;
4.
Compliance with the appropriate requirements of the American
National Standard for buildings and facilities providing accessibility
and usability for physically handicapped people, commonly cited as
"ANSI A 117.1", suffices to satisfy the requirements of Subsection
A(16)c.3 of this section;
5.
As used in this subsection, the term "covered multifamily dwellings"
means:
i.
Buildings consisting of four or more units if the buildings
have one or more elevators; and
ii.
Ground floor units in other buildings consisting of four or
more units;
6.
Nothing in this subsection requires that a dwelling be made
available to an individual whose tenancy would constitute a direct
threat to the health or safety of other individuals or whose tenancy
would result in substantial physical damage to the property of others;
(17) _____
a. A person whose business includes engaging in residential real estate
related transactions may not discriminate against a person in making
a real estate related transaction available or in the terms or conditions
of a real estate related transaction because of race, color, religion,
gender, handicap, familial status, national origin or age;
b. In this subsection, the term "residential real estate related transaction"
means:
1.
Making or purchasing loans or providing other financial assistance:
i.
To purchase, construct, improve, repair, or maintain a dwelling;
ii.
To secure residential real estate; or
2.
Selling, brokering, or appraising residential real property;
(18) This section does not prohibit discrimination against a person because
the person has been convicted under federal law or the law of any
state of the illegal manufacture or distribution of a controlled substance.
B. No other categories or classes of persons are protected pursuant
to this article.
[Code 1974 § 1-106; Code 1985 § 11-18;
Code 2005 § 54-35]
Nothing provided for in this article shall:
(1) 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 housing which
it owns or operates for other than a commercial purpose to persons
of the same religion, or from giving preferences to such persons,
unless membership in such religion is restricted on account of race,
color, or national origin. Nor shall anything in this article apply
to a private membership club which is a bona fide club and which is
exempt from taxation pursuant to § 501(c) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1954;
(2) Prohibit a religious organization, association, or society, or a
nonprofit institution or organization operated, supervised, or controlled
by or in conjunction with a religious organization, association, or
society, from:
a. Limiting the sale, rental, or occupancy of dwellings that it owns
or operates for other than a commercial purpose to persons of the
same religion; or
b. Giving preference to persons of the same religion, unless membership
in the religion is restricted because of race, color, or national
origin;
(3) Prohibit a private club not open to the public that, as an incident
to its primary purpose, provides lodging that it owns or operates
for other than a commercial purpose from limiting the rental or occupancy
of that lodging to its members or from giving preference to its members;
(4) Nothing provided for in this article relating to familial status
applies to housing for older persons. As used in this section, the
term "housing for older persons" means housing:
a. That the fair housing board determines is specifically designed and
operated to assist elderly persons pursuant to a federal or state
program;
b. Intended for, and solely occupied by, persons 62 years of age or
older; or
c. Intended and operated for occupancy by at least one person 55 years
of age or older per unit as determined by fair housing board rules;
(5) _____
a. Subject to Subsection (5)a.1.(ii), of this section, this article
does not apply to:
1. The sale or rental of a single-family house sold or rented by an
owner if:
i.
The owner does not:
Own more than three single-family houses at any one time; or
Own any interest in, or is there owned or reserved on his behalf,
pursuant to any express or voluntary agreement, title to or any right
to any part of the proceeds from the sale or rental of more than three
single-family houses at any one time; and
ii.
The house was sold or rented without:
The use of the sales or rental facilities or services of a real
estate broker, agent, or salesperson licensed pursuant to the Oklahoma
Real Estate License Code (59 O.S. § 858-101 et seq.), or
of an employee or agent of a licensed broker, agent, or salesperson,
or the facilities or services of the owner of a dwelling designed
or intended for occupancy by five or more families; or
The publication, posting, or mailing of a notice, statement, or advertisement prohibited by §
11-4; or
2. The sale or rental of rooms or units in a dwelling containing living
quarters occupied or intended to be occupied by no more than four
families living independently of each other, if the owner maintains
and occupies one of the living quarters as the owner's residence;
b. The exemption in Subsection (5)a.1. of this section applies to only
one sale or rental in a twenty-four-month period, if the owner was
not the most recent resident of the house at the time of the sale
or rental;
(6) Nothing provided for in this article shall prohibit a person engaged
in the business of furnishing appraisals of real property from taking
into consideration factors other than race, color, age, religion,
gender, handicap, familial status, or national origin;
(7) Nothing provided for in this article shall affect a reasonable local
or state restriction on the maximum number of occupants permitted
to occupy a dwelling or restriction relating to health or safety standards;
(8) Nothing provided for in this article shall prevent or restrict the
sale, lease, rental, transfer, or development of housing designed
or intended for the use of the handicapped;
(9) Nothing provided for in this article shall affect a requirement of
nondiscrimination in any other state or federal law;
(10) Nothing provided for in this article shall prohibit the transfer
of property by will, intestate succession, or by gift.
[Code 1974 §§ 1-107, 1-108; Code 1985 § 11-19;
Code 2005 § 54-36]
There is hereby created a fair housing board of the City composed
of five members, appointed by the City Manager for terms of three
years each. It shall be the duty of the fair housing board to:
(1) Initiate, receive and investigate complaints, charging unlawful housing
practices;
(2) Seek conciliation of such complaints, hold hearings, make findings
of fact and publish its findings of fact;
(3) Adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary within the limits
of this article, and carry out the purposes and provisions of this
article.
[Code 1974 § 1-109; Code 1985 § 11-20;
Code 2005 § 54-37]
A. Any person aggrieved by a discriminatory practice prohibited by this
article may file with the fair housing board a complaint in writing,
under oath. Such complaint shall be signed by the person claiming
to be aggrieved, and shall state the name and address of the person
alleged to have violated the provisions of this article, and shall
further set forth the particulars of such violation, and may include
such other information as may be required by the board. Complaints
filed under this section must be filed within 30 days after the alleged
violation, and failure to file within such time shall be considered
a waiver of the application of this article. The fair housing board
may issue a complaint on its own initiative, at any time it is within
the knowledge of the fair housing board that a person has violated
any of the provisions of this article.
B. The board shall investigate each complaint filed with the fair housing
board, and shall attempt an adjustment of such complaint by means
of conference and conciliation. Sixty days shall be allowed for the
purpose of investigation, conference and conciliation. Upon determination
that a complaint is not well founded, the fair housing board shall
dismiss such complaint and notify the complainant and respondent in
writing of such dismissal. If it appears that the complaint might
have merit, the complainants shall be advised of their rights under
existing state and federal laws.
C. If conference or conciliation does not result in compliance with
this article, the fair housing board shall cause to be issued and
served in the name of the City, a written notice, together with a
copy of such complaint, requiring the person named in such complaint,
hereinafter referred to as respondent, to answer charges of such complaint
at a hearing before the fair housing board at a time and place to
be specified in the notice.
D. At the hearing, provided for in Subsection
C of this section, the complaint shall be heard by the fair housing board. At the hearing, the complainant or person aggrieved may appear in person and/or by counsel, and the respondent may file a written answer to the complaint and may appear in person or by legal counsel. The fair housing board, when conducting any hearing, pursuant to this section, may permit amendments to any complaint or answer, and the testimony taken at the hearing shall be under oath, and shall be transcribed at the request of either party, or at the direction of the board, the party requesting the transcription to be responsible for the costs thereof. If the fair housing board finds at such hearing that the respondent has engaged in any discriminatory practice or practices prohibited by this article, it shall state its findings of fact and shall so certify the matter to the City Attorney for appropriate action. No prosecution shall be brought under this article except upon such certification.
E. If the fair housing board, upon hearing, finds that the respondent
has not engaged in any discriminatory practice, it shall state its
findings of fact and shall issue and file an order dismissing the
complaint. The fair housing board shall establish rules and regulations
to govern and expedite and effectuate the foregoing procedure, and
shall maintain the files provided for in this section.
F. All notices required under the provisions of this section to be served
personally on such person, or by mailing a copy thereof by certified
or registered mail, with return receipt requested, to the most current
business or resident address of such person.