§ 34-37-4 - Unlawful housing practices.
SECTION 34-37-4
§ 34-37-4 Unlawful housing practices.– (a) No owner having the right to sell, rent, lease, or manage a housingaccommodation as defined in § 34-37-3(11), or an agent of any of theseshall, directly or indirectly, make or cause to be made any written or oralinquiry concerning the race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, genderidentity or expression, marital status, country of ancestral origin ordisability, age, familial status nor make any written or oral inquiryconcerning whether a tenant or applicant, or a member of the household, is orhas been, or is threatened with being, the victim of domestic abuse, or whethera tenant or applicant has obtained, or sought, or is seeking, relief from anycourt in the form of a restraining order for protection from domestic abuse, ofany prospective purchaser, occupant, or tenant of the housing accommodation; orshall, directly or indirectly, refuse to sell, rent, lease, let, or otherwisedeny to or withhold from any individual the housing accommodation because ofthe race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity orexpression, marital status, country of ancestral origin, disability, age, orfamilial status of the individual or the race, color, religion, sex, sexualorientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, country ofancestral origin or disability, age, or familial status of any person with whomthe individual is or may wish to be associated; or shall, or on the basis thata tenant or applicant, or a member of the household, is or has been, or isthreatened with being, the victim of domestic abuse, or that the tenant orapplicant has obtained, or sought, or is seeking, relief from any court in theform of a restraining order for protection from domestic abuse. Nor shall anowner having the right to sell, rent, lease, or manage a housing accommodationas defined in § 34-37-3(11), or an agent of any of these, directly orindirectly, issue any advertisement relating to the sale, rental, or lease ofthe housing accommodation which indicates any preference, limitation,specification, or discrimination based upon race, color, religion, sex, sexualorientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, country ofancestral origin, disability, age, familial status, or on the basis that atenant or applicant, or a member of the household, is or has been, or isthreatened with being, the victim of domestic abuse, or that the tenant orapplicant has obtained, or sought, or is seeking, relief from any court in theform of a restraining order for protection from domestic abuse, or shall,directly or indirectly, discriminate against any individual because of his orher race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity orexpression, marital status, country of ancestral origin, disability, age,familial status, or on the basis that a tenant or applicant, or a member of thehousehold, is or has been, or is threatened with being, the victim of domesticabuse, or that the tenant or applicant has obtained, or sought, or is seeking,relief from any court in the form of a restraining order for protection fromdomestic abuse, in the terms, conditions, or privileges of the sale, rental, orlease of any housing accommodation or in the furnishing of facilities orservices in connection with it. Nothing in this subsection shall be construedto prohibit any oral or written inquiry as to whether the prospective purchaseror tenant is over the age of eighteen (18).
(b) No person to whom application is made for a loan or otherform of financial assistance for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation,repair, or maintenance of any housing accommodation, whether secured orunsecured shall directly or indirectly make or cause to be made any written ororal inquiry concerning the race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation,gender identity or expression, marital status, country of ancestral origin,disability, age, familial status, or any express written or oral inquiry intowhether a tenant or applicant, or a member of the household, is or has been, oris threatened with being, the victim of domestic abuse, or whether a tenant orapplicant has obtained, or sought, or is seeking, relief from any court in theform of a restraining order for protection from domestic abuse, of anyindividual seeking the financial assistance, or of existing or prospectiveoccupants or tenants of the housing accommodation; nor shall any person to whomthe application is made in the manner provided, directly or indirectly,discriminate in the terms, conditions, or privileges relating to the obtainingor use of any financial assistance against any applicant because of the race,color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression,marital status, country of ancestral origin, disability, age, familial status,or on the basis that a tenant or applicant, or a member of the household, is orhas been, or is threatened with being, the victim of domestic abuse, or thatthe tenant or applicant has obtained, or sought, or is seeking, relief from anycourt in the form of a restraining order for protection from domestic abuse, ofthe applicant or of the existing or prospective occupants or tenants. Nothingin this subsection shall be construed to prohibit any written or oral inquiryas to whether the applicant is over the age of eighteen (18).
(c) Nothing in this section contained shall be construed inany manner to prohibit or limit the exercise of the privilege of every personand the agent of any person having the right to sell, rent, lease, or manage ahousing accommodation to establish standards and preferences and set terms,conditions, limitations, or specifications in the selling, renting, leasing, orletting thereof or in the furnishing of facilities or services in connectiontherewith which do not discriminate on the basis of the race, color, religion,sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, countryof ancestral origin, disability, age, familial status, or on the basis that atenant or applicant, or a member of the household, is or has been, or isthreatened with being, the victim of domestic abuse, or that the tenant orapplicant has obtained, or sought, or is seeking, relief from any court in theform of a restraining order for protection from domestic abuse, of anyprospective purchaser, lessee, tenant, or occupant thereof or on the race,color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression,marital status, country of ancestral origin, disability, age, or familialstatus of any person with whom the prospective purchaser, lessee, tenant, oroccupant is or may wish to be associated. Nothing contained in this sectionshall be construed in any manner to prohibit or limit the exercise of theprivilege of every person and the agent of any person making loans for oroffering financial assistance in the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation,repair, or maintenance of housing accommodations to set standards andpreferences, terms, conditions, limitations, or specifications for the grantingof loans or financial assistance which do not discriminate on the basis of therace, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression,marital status, country of ancestral origin, disability, age, familial status,or on the basis that a tenant or applicant, or a member of the household, is orhas been, or is threatened with being, the victim of domestic abuse, or thatthe tenant or applicant has obtained, or sought, or is seeking, relief from anycourt in the form of a restraining order for protection from domestic abuse, ofthe applicant for the loan or financial assistance or of any existing orprospective owner, lessee, tenant, or occupant of the housing accommodation.
(d) An owner may not refuse to allow a person with adisability to make, at his or her expense, reasonable modifications of existingpremises occupied or to be occupied by the person if the modifications may benecessary to afford the person full enjoyment of the premises, except that, inthe case of a rental, the owner may where it is reasonable to do so conditionpermission for a modification on the renter agreeing to restore the interior ofthe premises to the condition that existed before the modification, reasonablewear and tear excepted. Where it is necessary in order to ensure withreasonable certainty that funds will be available to pay for the restorationsat the end of the tenancy, the landlord may negotiate as part of therestoration agreement a provision requiring that the tenant pay into aninterest bearing escrow account, over a reasonable period, a reasonable amountof money not to exceed the cost of the restorations. The interest in theaccount shall accrue to the benefit of the tenant. The restoration depositionshall be exempt from § 34-18-19(a) but will be subject to §34-18-19(b) – (f).
(e) An owner may not refuse to make reasonable accommodationsin rules, policies, practices, or services, when those accommodations may benecessary to afford an occupant with a disability equal opportunity to use andenjoy a dwelling.
(2) Every person with a disability who has a guide dog orother personal assistive animal, or who obtains a guide dog or other personalassistive animal, shall be entitled to full and equal access to all housingaccommodations provided for in this section, and shall not be required to payextra compensation for the guide dog or other personal assistive animal, butshall be liable for any damage done to the premises by a guide dog or otherpersonal assistive animal. For the purposes of this subsection a "personalassistive animal" is an animal specifically trained by a certified animaltraining program to assist a person with a disability to perform independentliving tasks.
(f) Any housing accommodation of four (4) units or moreconstructed for first occupancy after March 13, 1991 shall be designed andconstructed in such a manner that:
(1) The public use and common use portions of the dwellingsare readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities;
(2) All the doors designed to allow passage into and withinall premises within the dwellings are sufficiently wide to allow passage bypersons with disabilities in wheelchairs;
(3) All premises within the dwellings contain the followingfeatures of adaptive design:
(i) Accessible route into and through the dwelling;
(ii) Light switches, electrical outlets, thermostats, andother environmental controls in accessible locations;
(iii) Reinforcements in bathroom walls to allow laterinstallation of grab bars; and
(iv) Usable kitchens and bathrooms such that an individual ina wheelchair can maneuver about the space. To the extent that any state orlocal building codes, statutes or ordinances are inconsistent with thissection, they are hereby repealed. The state building code standards committeeis hereby directed to adopt rules and regulations consistent with this sectionas soon as possible, but no later than September 30, 1990.
(g) Compliance with the appropriate requirements of the StateBuilding Code 14 "accessibility for individuals with disabilities forresidential use groups" suffices to satisfy the requirements of subsection (f).
(h) As used in subsection (f), the term "housingaccommodation of four (4) units or more" means:
(1) Buildings consisting of four (4) or more units if thosebuildings have one or more elevators; and
(2) Ground floor units in other buildings consisting of four(4) or more units;
(i) Nothing in subsection (f) shall be construed to limit anylaw, statute, or regulation which requires a greater degree of accessibility topersons with disabilities.
(j) Nothing in this section requires that a dwelling be madeavailable to an individual whose tenancy would constitute a direct threat tothe health or safety of other individuals or whose tenancy would result insubstantial physical damage to the property of others.
(k) Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed toprohibit an owner, lessee, sublessee, or assignee from advertising or selectinga person of the same or opposite gender to rent, lease, or share the housingunit which the owner, lessee, sublessee, or assignee will occupy with theperson selected.
(l) No person shall aid, abet, incite, compel, or coerce thedoing of any act declared by this section to be an unlawful housing practice,or obstruct or prevent any person from complying with the provisions of thischapter or any order issued thereunder, or attempt directly or indirectly tocommit any act declared by this section to be an unlawful housing practice.
(m) No owner, person defined in § 34-37-3(12), person towhom application is made for a loan or other form of financial assistance forthe acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair, or maintenance of anyhousing accommodation, whether secured or unsecured, no financial organizationgoverned by the provisions of title 19 or any other credit granting commercialinstitution, or respondent under this chapter or any agent of these shalldiscriminate in any manner against any individual because he or she has opposedany practice forbidden by this chapter, or because he or she has made a charge,testified, or assisted in any manner in any investigation, proceeding, orhearing under this chapter.
(n) Nothing in this section shall prevent a landlord fromproceeding with eviction action against a tenant who fails to comply with§ 34-18-24(7)(n).