[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Sullivan as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
[Adopted 4-7-1982 by L.L. No. 1-1982]
It is hereby ordained that the Town of Sullivan
by this article adopts and establishes an office of Fair Housing and
establishes a Fair Housing Policy. The purpose, policy, duties and
procedures to be followed by the Town of Sullivan under this article
are set forth below.
All such definitions of the Human Rights Law
of the State of New York (as amended) as pertain to fair housing are
hereby restated by the Town as the provisions of this article.
All such unlawful discriminatory practices contained
in the Human Rights Law of the State of New York (as amended) §§ 296
and 296-a[1] as pertaining to fair housing are hereby restated by the Town of Sullivan as the provisions of this article. All such procedure as delineated within §§ 296 and 296-a as pertaining to fair housing is hereby replaced by the provision forth in § 133-7 of this article.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Executive Law §§ 296 and
296-a.
There is hereby established a Fair Housing Office
which is designated to administer this article. The head of such office
shall be appointed by the Supervisor of the Town of Sullivan and shall
hereinafter be called the "Fair Housing Officer" of the Town of Sullivan.
The Fair Housing Office, by and through the
Fair Housing Officer, shall have the following functions, powers and
duties:
A.
To establish and maintain a principal office within
the Town as may be necessary.
B.
To function at any place within the Town of Sullivan.
C.
To employ such personnel as may be necessary to effectively
carry out its powers and duties.
D.
Upon request, to obtain and utilize the services of
all governmental departments and agencies.
E.
To formulate policies to effectuate the purposes of
this article and to make recommendations to agencies and officers
of the Town of Sullivan in aid of such policies and purposes.
F.
To receive and investigate complaints alleging violations
of this article.
G.
To develop human rights plans and policies for the
Town and to assist in their execution. To make investigations and
studies appropriate to effectuate this article, to inform persons
of the rights assured and remedies provided under this article, to
promote good will and to minimize or eliminate discrimination.
H.
To render each year to the Supervisor and to the Town
Board a written report of all of its activities and of its recommendations.
I.
To furnish any person with such technical assistance
that the office deems appropriate to further compliance with the purposes
or provisions of this article.
J.
Such other powers and duties described hereinafter
and as may be designated by the Supervisor or otherwise authorized
by the Town of Sullivan.
A.
Any person claiming to be aggrieved by an unlawful
discriminatory practice may, by himself or by his attorney, make,
sign and file with the office a verified complaint which shall state
the name and address of the person or persons alleged to have committed
the unlawful discriminatory practice complained of and which shall
set forth the particulars thereof and contain such other information
as may be requested by the office.
B.
After filing of the complaint, the office shall make
a prompt investigation in connection therewith.
C.
If in the judgment of the office, the circumstances
so warrant, it may, at any time after the filing of the complaint,
endeavor to eliminate such discriminatory practices by conference,
conciliation and persuasion.
D.
Nothing contained in this article shall be construed
so as to limit or prohibit investigation by any other governmental
unit of competent jurisdiction, nor shall anything contained herein
limit any aggrieved party from pursuing any remedy available therefrom.
In the event of such a situation, the office is hereby empowered to
place any and all of its material obtained through the investigation
at the disposal of such other governmental unit.
[Adopted 12-2-1992 by L.L. No. 2-1992]
For the purpose of providing and ensuring fair
housing opportunities for all within the jurisdiction of the Town
of Sullivan, the Town Board hereby obtains, enacts, and publishes
the within article prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race,
color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin
in the sale, rental, financing, or provision of brokerage services
for housing within the jurisdiction of the Town of Sullivan.
This article shall apply to all areas within
the jurisdiction of the Town of Sullivan, outside the Village of Chittenango.
A.
General. For the purpose of this article, 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
Specific words or phrases. For the purpose of this
article, 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 § 133-14, it shall be unlawful within the jurisdiction of the Town of Sullivan:
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 available or deny, a dwelling to any person because
of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, 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 provisions
of services or facilities in connection therewith, because of race,
color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status 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,
handicap, familial status, or national origin, or an intention to
make any such preference, limitations, or discrimination.
D.
To represent to any person because of race, color,
religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin that
any dwelling is not available for inspection, sale, 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, handicap, familial status,
or national origin.
It shall be unlawful within the jurisdiction of the Town of Sullivan 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, construction, 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 the race, color, religion, sex, handicap, 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 the purposes of such loan or other financial 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, provided that nothing contained in this section shall impair the scope or effectiveness of the exception contained in § 133-14.
It shall be unlawful within the jurisdiction
of the Town of Sullivan 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, religion, sex, handicap, familial
status, or national origin.
A.
Sales/rental 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 or more than three such single-family houses at one time; provided, further, that the sale or rental of any such single-family house shall be excepted from the application of the law only if such house is sold or rented: a) without the use in any manner of the sales or rental facilities or the sales or rental services of any real estate broker, agents, or salesman, or of such facilities or services of any person in the business of selling or renting dwelling, or of any employee or agent of any such broker, agent, salesman, or person; and b) without the publication, posting, or mailing, after notice, of any advertisement or written notice in violation of § 133-11 of this article; but nothing in this provision shall prohibit the use of attorneys, escrow agents, abstractors, title companies, and other such professional assistance as may be necessary to perfect or transfer to title; or
(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; or
(b)
He has, with 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; or
(c)
He is the owner of any dwelling designed or
intended for occupancy by, or occupied by, five or more families.
B.
Sales/rental by religious organizations. Nothing in
this article 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 for 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, handicap, familial status, or national
origin. Nor shall anything in this article prohibit a private club
not in fact open to the public, which as a incident to its primary
purpose or purposes provides lodgings which it owns or operates for
other than a commercial purpose, from limiting the rental or occupancy
of such lodging to its members or from giving preference to its members.
A.
Authority and responsibility. The authority and responsibility
for publicizing, administering, and enforcing this article shall be
in the Town's Fair Housing Officer, to be designated by the Supervisor
of the Town of Sullivan.
B.
Violations. Violations of this article shall be reported
in person or in writing to the Town's Fair Housing Officer.
C.
Enforcement. Where sufficient cause exists to believe
that the terms of this article have been violated, the Fair Housing
Officer shall institute a suit in Town Court against the alleged violator.
D.
Penalties. Where a person or organization has been
found, after a trial on the merits, in violation of this article,
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 violation of this article shall be $100 for a first
offense and $500 for each additional offense. Each and every separate
violation of this article shall be deemed an offense for the purposes
of imposing the appropriate fine.
