For the purpose of this division, the following terms, phrases,
words and their derivations shall have the meanings given herein.
When not inconsistent with the context, words so used in the present
tense include the future, words in the masculine gender include the
feminine, words in the plural number include the singular, and words
in the singular number include the plural.
means any building, structure or portion thereof which is
occupied as, or designed and intended for occupancy as, a residence
by one or more families or 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,
fiduciaries, and any other organization or entity of whatever character.
includes to lease, to sublease, to let, and otherwise to
grant for a consideration the right to occupy premises not owned by
the occupant.
(Ordinance 1141, sec. 1, adopted 5/14/1990; 1994 Code, sec. 1.301)
Except as exempted by section 1.02.035, it shall be unlawful for any person to:
(1)
Refuse
to sell or rent, after the making of a bona fide offer, or 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, disability, familial status, or national origin;
(2)
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, disability,
familial status, or national origin;
(3)
Make,
print, publish, or cause to be made, printed or published any notice,
statement or advertisement regarding the sale or rental of a dwelling
that indicates any preference, limitation or discrimination based
on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national
origin, or any intention to make any such preference, limitation or
discrimination;
(4)
Represent
to any person because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial
status, or national origin that any dwelling is not available for
inspection, sale or rental when such dwelling is in fact so available;
(5)
For
profit, or with the hope or expectation of profit, 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, disability,
familial status, or national origin;
(6)
For
profit, or with the hope or expectation of profit, influence or attempt
to influence, by any words, acts, or failure to act, any seller, purchaser,
landlord or tenant of a dwelling so as to promote the maintenance
of racially segregated housing or so as to retard, obstruct, or discourage
racially integrated housing.
(Ordinance 1141, sec. 2, adopted 5/14/1990; 1994 Code, sec. 1.302; Ordinance adopting 2024 Code)
It shall be unlawful for any bank, building and loan association,
insurance company or other corporation, association, firm, or enterprise
whose business consists in whole or in part of the making of commercial
or residential 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 any such person in the fixing of the amount,
interest rate, brokerage points, duration, or other terms or conditions
of such loan or other financial assistance, because of:
(1)
The
race, color, religion, sex, disability, 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
(2)
The
race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national
origin of the present or prospective owners, lessees, tenants, or
occupants of the dwelling or dwellings for which such loan or other
financial assistance is to be made or given.
(Ordinance 1141, sec. 3, adopted 5/14/1990; 1994 Code, sec. 1.303; Ordinance adopting 2024 Code)
It shall be unlawful for any person to deny 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 in
the terms or conditions of such access, membership or participation,
on account of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status
or national origin.
(Ordinance 1141, sec. 4, adopted 5/14/1990; 1994 Code, sec. 1.304; Ordinance adopting 2024 Code)
(a)
There shall be exempted from the application of section 1.02.032 hereof all transactions involving:
(1)
The rental of 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 units as his residence;
(2)
The rental of a single room in a dwelling containing living quarters
occupied or intended to be occupied by no more than one family if
the person offering such room for rental actually maintains and occupies
the remainder of such dwelling as his residence and not more than
four such rooms are offered;
(3)
The sale or rental of any single house by a private individual who
owns such house, provided that:
(A)
The sale or rental is made 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
(B)
The sale is made without the publication, posting or mailing of any advertisement or written notice in violation of section 1.02.032(3) of this division (this shall not prohibit the use of attorneys, escrow agents, abstractors, title companies, and other such professional assistance as necessary to perfect or transfer the title); and
(C)
The owner does not own more than three single-family houses at the
time of the sale; and
(D)
The owner does not own any interest in, nor is there owned or reserved
on his behalf, under any express or voluntary agreement, title to
or any right to all or any portion of the proceeds from the sale or
rental of more than three such single-family houses at any one time.
(E)
If the owner does not reside in the house at the time of sale or
was not the most recent resident of such house prior to the sale,
the exemption granted by this subsection shall apply only with respect
to one such sale within any twenty-four-month period.
(b)
Nothing
in this division 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 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, or national origin.
(c)
Nothing
in this division shall prohibit a bona fide private club, not in fact
open to the public, which, as an incident to its primary purpose,
provides lodging 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.
(d)
Nothing
in this division shall bar any person from owning and operating a
housing accommodation in which a room or rooms are leased, subleased
or rented only to persons of the same sex, when such housing accommodation
contains common lavatory, kitchen or similar facilities available
for the use of all persons occupying such housing accommodation.
(Ordinance 1141, sec. 5, adopted 5/14/1990; 1994 Code, sec. 1.305)
The mayor shall appoint and the council shall confirm a fair
housing administrator (hereinafter referred to as "administrator"),
who shall have the responsibility for implementing this division.
The administrator may delegate his authority to investigate and conciliate
complaints to other city employees under his direction.
(Ordinance 1141, sec. 6, adopted 5/14/1990; 1994 Code, sec. 1.306)
(a)
Only
the person who claims to have been injured by a discriminatory housing
practice or who believes he will be irrevocably injured by a discriminatory
housing practice that has occurred or is occurring (hereafter referred
to as "person aggrieved") may file a complaint with the administrator.
Such complaints shall be in writing and shall identify the person
alleged to have committed or alleged to be committing a discriminatory
housing practice and shall state the facts upon which the allegations
of a discriminatory housing practice are based. The administrator
shall prepare complaint forms and furnish them without charge to any
person, upon request.
(b)
If
at any time the administrator shall receive or discover credible evidence
and shall have probable cause to believe that any person or persons
have committed or are committing a discriminatory housing practice
as to which no complaint has been filed, the administrator may prepare
and file a complaint upon his own motion and in his own name and such
complaint shall thereafter be treated in the same manner as a complaint
filed by a person aggrieved.
(c)
The administrator shall receive and accept notification and referral complaints from the U.S. Attorney General and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development pursuant to the provisions of title VIII, Fair Housing Act of 1968, Public Law 90-284, and shall treat such complaints hereunder in the same manner as complaints filed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
(d)
All
complaints shall be filed within sixty (60) days following the occurrence
of an alleged discriminatory housing practice. Upon the filing or
referral of any complaint, the administrator shall provide notice
of the complaint by furnishing a copy of such complaint to the persons
named therein who allegedly committed or were threatening to commit
an alleged discriminatory housing practice. The accused may file an
answer to the complaint within fifteen (15) days of receipt of the
written complaint.
(e)
All
complaints and answers shall be subscribed and sworn to before an
officer authorized to administer oaths.
(Ordinance 1141, sec. 7, adopted 5/14/1990; 1994 Code, sec. 1.307)
(a)
Upon
the filing or referral of a complaint as herein provided, the administrator
shall cause to be made a prompt and full investigation of the matter
stated in the complaint.
(b)
During
or after the investigation, but subsequent to the mailing of the notice
of complaint, the administrator shall, if it appears that a discriminatory
housing practice has occurred or is threatening to occur, attempt
by informal endeavors to effect conciliation, including voluntary
discontinuance of the discriminatory housing practice and adequate
assurance of future voluntary compliance with the provisions of this
division. Nothing said or done in the course of such informal endeavors
may be made public by the administrator, by the complainant or by
any other party to the proceedings without the written consent of
all persons concerned.
(c)
Upon
completion of the investigation and informal endeavors at conciliation
by the administrator, but within thirty (30) days of the filing of
the complaint with the administrator, if the efforts of the administrator
to secure voluntary compliance have been unsuccessful, and if the
administrator has made a determination that a discriminatory housing
practice has in fact occurred, the administrator shall recommend to
the city attorney that such violations be prosecuted in the municipal
court. With such recommendations, the administrator shall refer his
entire file to the city attorney. The city attorney shall, within
thirty (30) days after such referral, make a determination as to whether
to proceed with prosecution of such complaint in municipal court.
If the city attorney determines to prosecute, he shall institute a
complaint and prosecute same to conclusion within thirty (30) days
after such determination or as soon thereafter as practicable.
(d)
All
complainants under this division shall be advised of their rights
to file housing discrimination complaints as defined in this division
with the Fair Housing and Equal Employment Opportunity Division of
the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Region VI, 211
West Lancaster Avenue, Fort Worth, Texas 76113.
(Ordinance 1141, sec. 8, adopted 5/14/1990; 1994 Code, sec. 1.308)
This division is cumulative in its legal effect and is not in
lieu of any and all other legal remedies which the person aggrieved
may pursue.
(Ordinance 1141, sec. 9, adopted 5/14/1990; 1994 Code, sec. 1.309)
The city's fair housing administrator shall provide free administrative
counsel to all complainants under this division who wish to file private
suits for relief in a local, state or federal court of law in order
to insure their full awareness and understanding of the provisions
of this division and title VIII of the Fair Housing Act of 1968, Public
Law 90-284.
(Ordinance 1141, sec. 9, adopted 5/14/1990; 1994 Code, sec. 1.310)
It shall be unlawful for any person to harass, threaten, harm,
damage or otherwise penalize any individual, group or business because
he or they have complied with the provisions of this division, because
he or they have exercised his or their rights under this division
or enjoyed the benefits of this division, or because he or they have
made a charge, testified or assisted in any manner in any investigation
or in any proceeding hereunder or have made any report to the administrator.
(Ordinance 1141, sec. 10, adopted 5/14/1990; 1994 Code, sec. 1.311)
The administrator and the city attorney are authorized to cooperate
with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Attorney
General pursuant to the provisions of title VIII, Fair Housing Act
of 1968, Public Law 90-284, and may render such service to the Secretary
as they shall deem appropriate to further the policies of this division.
(Ordinance 1141, sec. 11, adopted 5/14/1990; 1994 Code, sec. 1.312)
In order to further the objectives of this division, the administrator
may conduct educational and public information programs.
(Ordinance 1141, sec. 12, adopted 5/14/1990; 1994 Code, sec. 1.313)
(a)
Any person, firm, or corporation violating any provision of this division shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be fined in accordance with the general penalty provision found in section 1.01.009 of this code. Each day a violation continues after passage of seventy-five (75) days from date of the filing of the initial complaint with the administrator shall constitute a separate and distinct offense.
(b)
Any
person, firm, or corporation violating any provision of this division
may be enjoined by a suit filed by the city in a court of competent
jurisdiction, and this remedy is in addition to any other penalty
provision.
(Ordinance 1141, sec. 13, adopted 5/14/1990; 1994 Code, sec. 1.314)
