It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Town in the exercise of
its police power for the public safety, health and general welfare to assure
equal opportunity to all persons to live in decent housing facilities regardless
of sex, race, color, sexual orientation, handicap, religion, national origin,
sex or marital status of person maintaining a household, lawful source of
income, age or ancestry and to that end to prohibit discrimination in housing
by any person.
The following definitions shall be applicable in this chapter:
DISCRIMINATION or DISCRIMINATORY HOUSING PRACTICE
Any difference in treatment based upon sex, race, color, sexual orientation,
handicap, religion, national origin, sex or marital status of the person maintaining
a household, lawful source of income, age or ancestry or any act that is prohibited
under this chapter.
FINANCIAL INSTITUTION
Includes any person, as defined herein, engaged in the business of
lending money or guaranteeing loans.
HOUSING ACCOMMODATION or DWELLING
Any building, mobile home or trailer, structure or portion thereof
which is occupied or designed or intended for occupancy as a residence of
one or more persons; or 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; or any real property, as defined
herein, used or intended to be used for any of the purposes set forth in this
definition.
MORTGAGE BROKER
Any individual who is engaged in or who performs the business or
services of a mortgage broker as the same are defined by the Wisconsin Statutes.
OPEN MARKET
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, cotenant, 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 ventures,
partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations
and all other groups or combinations.
REAL ESTATE BROKER or REAL ESTATE SALESPERSON
Includes any individual, qualified by law, who for a fee, commission,
salary or other valuable consideration, or who with the intention or expectation
of receiving or collecting the same, lists, sells, purchases, rents or leases
any housing accommodation, including options thereupon; or who negotiates
or attempts to negotiate a loan, secured by mortgage or other encumbrance,
upon transfer of any housing accommodation; or who is engaged in the business
of charging an advanced fee or contracting for collection of a fee in connection
with a contract whereby he 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, lands, tenements, leaseholds, cooperatives
and condominiums.
This chapter shall not apply to:
A. Any religious organization, association or society, or
any nonprofit institution or organization operated, supervised or controlled
by a religious organization, association or society, which limits the sale,
rental or occupancy of dwellings that it owns or operates for other than commercial
purposes to persons of the same religion, or gives preference to such persons,
unless membership in such religion is restricted on account of sex, race,
color, sexual orientation, handicap, national origin, sex or marital status
of the person maintaining a household, lawful source of income, age or ancestry.
B. A private club not in fact open to the public which,
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,
unless membership in such club is discriminatorily limited.
C. Any single-family house sold or rented by the owner, provided that such private individual owner does not own more than two such single-family houses in the Town at one time; 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 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; such bona fide private individual owner does not own any interest in, nor is there owned or served on his 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 two such single-family houses at any one time; and 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 sale 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 the provisions of 42 U.S.C. § 3604(c) or of §
277-3 of this chapter, but nothing in this provision 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 residence.
Any person aggrieved by an unlawful practice prohibited by this chapter
may file a complaint with the Town Attorney within 30 days after the aggrieved
person becomes aware of the alleged unlawful practice and in no event more
than 180 days after the alleged unlawful practice occurred. The Town Attorney
or his authorized representative shall investigate each complaint and attempt
to resolve it. Failure to achieve a resolution acceptable to both parties
and in compliance with this chapter shall cause the Town Attorney to forward
the complaint and findings to appropriate state and federal officials.
Nothing herein contained shall prevent any person from exercising any
right or seeking any remedy to which he might otherwise be entitled or from
filing his complaint with any appropriate governmental agency.
Any person violating any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction
thereof, be subject to a penalty as provided in § 106.50, Wis. Stats.