It is declared to be the policy of the city in the exercise of its police power for the public safety, public health, and general welfare to assure equal opportunity to all persons to live in decent housing facilities regardless of race, color, religion, sex or national origin and, to that end, to prohibit discrimination in housing by any person.
(C.O. 84-372 § 1 (part))
"Discrimination" or "discriminatory housing practice"
means any difference in treatment based upon race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, or any act that is unlawful under this chapter.
"Financial institution"
includes any person, as defined in this section, engaged in the business of lending money or guaranteeing losses.
"Housing accommodation" or "dwelling"
means 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 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, mobile home or trailer, structure, or portion thereof of any real property, as defined in this chapter, used or intended to be used for any of the purposes set forth in this chapter.
"Mortgage broker"
means an individual who is engaged in or who performs the business or services of a mortgage broker as the same are defined by Massachusetts general laws.
"Open market"
means 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"
includes a lessee, sublessee, co-tenant, 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"
includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations and all other groups or combinations.
"Real estate broker" or "real estate salesman"
includes 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 such activities, or who advertises or holds himself or herself out as engaged in such activities; or who negotiates or attempts to negotiate a loan, secured by a mortgage or other encumbrance, upon transfer of any housing accommodations; 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 or 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"
includes buildings, structures, land, tenements, leaseholds, cooperatives and condominiums.
(C.O. 84-372 § 1 (part))
In connection with any of the transactions set forth in this chapter which affect any housing accommodation on the open market, or in connection with any public sale, purchase, rental or lease of any housing accommodation, it is unlawful within the city for a person, owner, financial institution, real estate broker or real estate salesman, or any representative of the above, to:
A. 
Refuse to sell, purchase, rent or lease, or deny to or withhold any housing accommodation from a person because of his or her race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, or place of birth;
B. 
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;
C. 
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 or her race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, or place of birth;
D. 
Refuse to negotiate for the sale, purchase, rental or lease of any housing accommodation to a person because of his or her race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, or place of birth;
E. 
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 or her race, color, religion, or national origin, sex, or place of birth;
F. 
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;
G. 
Offer, solicit, accept or use a listing 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;
H. 
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 race, color, religion, sex, or national origin or place of birth in the area to be affected by such sale, purchase, rental or lease will or may result in either:
1. 
The lowering of property values in the area,
2. 
An increase in criminal or antisocial behavior in the area,
3. 
A decline in the quality of schools serving the area;
I. 
Make any misrepresentations concerning the listing for sale, purchase, rental or lease, or the anticipated listing for sale, purchase, rental or lease, or the anticipated listing for any of the above, or the sale, purchase, rental or lease of any housing accommodation in any area in the city for the purpose of inducing or attempting to induce any such listing or any of the above transactions;
J. 
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;
K. 
Retaliate or discriminate in any manner against a person because he or she has opposed a practice declared unlawful by this article, or because he or she has filed a complaint, testified, assisted or participated in any matter in any investigation, proceeding, hearing or conference under this chapter;
L. 
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 order issued thereunder;
M. 
By canvassing, to commit any unlawful practices prohibited by this chapter;
N. 
Otherwise deny to, or withhold any housing accommodation from a person because of his or her race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, or place of birth;
O. 
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 or her in the fixing of the amount, interest rate, duration, or other terms or conditions of such loans or other financial assistance, because of the race, color, religion, sex, or national origin of such person or of any person associated with him or her in connection with such loan or other financial assistance or the purposes of such loan 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;
P. 
Deny any qualified 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 or her in their terms or conditions of such access, membership, or participation, on account of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
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 purpose to persons of the same religion, or which gives preference to such persons, unless membership in such a religion is restricted on account of race, color, sex, or national origin."
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 owner not residing in such house at the time of such sale or who was not the most recent resident of 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 or 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; provided further, 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, and
2. 
Without the publication, posting or mailing, after notice, of any advertisement or written notice in violation of the provisions of 42 United States Code Section 3604(c), or of Section 9.24.030 of this revision; but nothing in this chapter 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 or her residence.
(C.O. 84-372 § 1 (part))
Any person aggrieved by an unlawful practice prohibited by this chapter may file a complaint with the housing complaint officer of the city thirty days after the aggrieved person becomes aware of the alleged unlawful practice, and in no event more than sixty days after the alleged unlawful practice occurred. The housing officer or his or her duly authorized representative shall investigate 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 housing complaint officer to forward the complaint and his or her findings to appropriate state and federal officials.
(C.O. 84-372 § 1 (part))
Nothing contained in this chapter shall prevent any person from exercising any right or seeking any remedy to which he or she might otherwise be entitled or from filing his or her complaint with any appropriate governmental agency.
(C.O. 84-372 § 1 (part))
Any person violating any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished as provided by law and be subject to the general penalty provided for in Chapter 1.16 of this revision.
(C.O. 84-372 § 1 (part))