[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of
Soldiers Grove 5-8-1980. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 12-8-1988]
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Village of Soldiers
Grove, Wisconsin, to assure equal opportunity to all persons to live
in decent housing facilities regardless of age, handicap, race, color,
religion, sex or national origin, and to that end, to prohibit discrimination
in housing by any persons.
When used herein, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Any difference in treatment based upon age, handicap, race,
color, religion, sex or national origin; or any act that is unlawful
under this chapter.
[Amended 12-8-1988]
Includes any person, as defined herein, engaged in the business
of lending money or guaranteeing loans.
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 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 subsection.
An individual who is engaged in or who performs the business
or services of a mortgage broker as the same are defined by Wisconsin
statutes.
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.
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.
Includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint
ventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates,
fiduciaries, corporations and all other groups or combinations.
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 a loan,
secured by a mortgage or other encumbrance, upon transfer of any housing
accommodation; 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 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.
Includes buildings, structures, lands, tenements, leaseholds,
cooperatives and condominiums.
In connection with any of the transactions set forth in this
section 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 shall be unlawful within the Village
of Soldiers Grove 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 age, handicap,
race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex or place of
birth; or
[Amended 12-8-1988]
B.
To 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;
or
C.
To 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 age, handicap, race, color, religion, ancestry, national
origin, sex or place of birth; or
[Amended 12-8-1988]
D.
To refuse to negotiate for the sale, purchase, rental, or lease of
any housing accommodation to a person because of his or her age, handicap,
race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex or place of
birth; or
[Amended 12-8-1988]
E.
To 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 age, handicap, race, color, religion,
national origin, sex or place of birth; or
[Amended 12-8-1988]
F.
To 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, 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; or
G.
To 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; or
H.
To induce directly or indirectly, or attempt to induce directly or
indirectly, the sale, purchase, rental or lease, or the listing for
any of the foregoing, of any housing accommodation by representing
that the presence or anticipated presence of persons of any particular
age, handicap, 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:
[Amended 12-8-1988]
I.
To make any misrepresentations concerning the listing for sale, purchase,
rental or lease, or the anticipated listing of any housing accommodation
in any area in the Village of Soldiers Grove for the purpose of including
or attempting to induce any such listing or any of the above transactions;
or
J.
To 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; or
K.
To retaliate or discriminate in any manner against a person because
he has opposed a practice declared unlawful by this chapter, or because
he has filed a complaint, testified, assisted or participated in any
manner in any investigation, proceeding, hearing or conference under
this chapter; or
L.
To 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; or
M.
By canvassing, to commit any unlawful practices prohibited by this
chapter; or
N.
Otherwise to deny to, or withhold any housing accommodation from,
a person because of his or her age, handicap, race, color, religion,
ancestry, national origin, sex or place of birth; or
[Amended 12-8-1988]
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 in the fixing
of the amount, interest rate, duration, or other terms or conditions
of such loans or other financial assistance, because of age, handicap,
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 purposes of such loan or other financial
assistance; or
[Amended 12-8-1988]
P.
To deny any qualified person 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 against him in
their terms or conditions of such access, membership, or participation,
on account of age, handicap, race, color, religion, sex, or national
origin.
[Amended 12-8-1988]
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 person, unless membership
in such a religion is restricted on account of age, handicap, race,
color, sex or national origin.
[Amended 12-8-1988]
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 sale or who was not the
most recent resident of such house at the time of 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 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 § 106-3 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; or
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 Village of Soldiers Grove, office
of the Clerk-Treasurer, within 30 days after the aggrieved person
becomes aware that the alleged unlawful practice occurred. The Village
of Soldiers Grove Clerk-Treasurer or his duly authorized representative
shall investigate each complaint and attempt to resolve each complaint.
Failure to achieve a resolution acceptable to both parties in compliance
with this chapter shall cause the Village to forward the complaint
and their 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 who willfully violates this chapter or any lawful
order issued under this chapter shall, for each such violation, forfeit
not less than $10 nor more than $200. Payment of any such forfeiture
shall be stayed during the period in which any appeal may be taken
and during the pendency of any appeal.
