[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Chenango 7-17-1989
by L.L. No. 1-1989. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Zoning — See Ch. 73.
For the purpose of providing and ensuring fair housing opportunities
for all within the Town of Chenango, the Town Board of the Town of Chenango,
in the County of Broome, State of New York, under the authority of the General
Municipal and Town Laws, hereby obtains, enacts and publishes this chapter.
A.
For the purpose of this chapter, certain words or phrases
herein shall be interpreted as follows, except where the context clearly indicates
the contrary. Words used in the singular include the plural, words used in
the present tense include the future tense, the word "person" includes a corporation
as well as an individual, and the word "shall" is always mandatory.
B.
DISCRIMINATORY HOUSING PRACTICE
DWELLING
FAMILY
PERSON
TO RENT
For the purpose of this chapter, certain terms or words
herein shall be interpreted as follows:
Any building, 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 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, 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 § 36A-6, it shall be unlawful within the Town of Chenango:
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, color,
religion, sex or national origin.
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, color, religion, sex
or national origin.
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, color, religion, sex or national origin or an intention to
make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.
D.
To represent to any person because of race, color, religion,
sex or national origin that any dwelling is not available for inspection,
sales or 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 representations regarding the entry or prospective
entry into the neighborhood of a person or persons of a particular race, color,
religion, sex or national origin.
It shall be unlawful within the Town of Chenango 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 loan or other financial assistance because of race, color, religion, sex or national origin of such person or of any person associated with him in connection with such loan or other financial assistance, or 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, provided that nothing contained in this section shall impair the scope of effectiveness of the exception contained in § 36A-6.
It shall be unlawful within the Town of Chenango 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, color, religion, sex or national origin.
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 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 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 any 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 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 without the publication, posting or mailing, after notice, of any advertisement or written notice in violation of § 36A-3 of this chapter; but nothing in this proviso shall prohibit the use of attorneys, escrow agents, abstractors, title companies and other such professional assistance as may be necessary to perfect or transfer the title.
(b)
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 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
as principal in three or more transactions involving the sale or rental of
any dwelling or any interest therein.
(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.
(c)
He is the owner of any dwelling designed or intended
for occupancy by or occupied by five or more families.
B.
Sales/rentals 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 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; 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.
The authority and responsibility for publicizing, administering and
enforcing this chapter shall be in the Town Fair Housing Officer, to be designated
by the Supervisor of the Town of Chenango.
Violations of this chapter shall be reported in person or in writing
to the Town's Fair Housing Officer.
Where sufficient cause exists to believe that the terms of this chapter
have been violated, the Fair Housing Officer shall institute a suit in Town
Court against the alleged violator.
Where a person or organization has been found, after a trial on the
merits, in violation of this chapter, a fine shall be imposed on such person
or organization not to exceed $500 for a first offense and $1,000 for each
additional offense. The minimum fine for violations of this chapter shall
be $100 for a 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 Town Board may, on its own initiative or on petition, amend, supplement
or repeal the provisions of this chapter in conformity with applicable law
after public notice and hearing.
In their interpretation and application, 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 "Town of Chenango
Fair Housing Law."
