Kingsport

ARTICLE II. OPEN HOUSING

Sec. 50-26. Definitions. back to top

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Dwelling means 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 of any such building.

Family includes a single individual.

To rent includes to lease, to sublease, to let and otherwise to grant for a consideration the right to occupy premises not owned by the occupant.

(Code 1981, § 17-1)

Cross references: Definitions generally, § 1-2.

Sec. 50-27. Discriminatory housing practices generally. back to top

(a) It is a discriminatory practice and it is prohibited for any person because of race, color, creed, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, to:

(1) Refuse to sell or rent after the making of a bona fide offer or refuse to negotiate for the sale or rental of or otherwise make unavailable or deny real property or a housing accommodation to a person;

(2) Discriminate against any person in the terms, conditions or privileges of sale or rental of real property or a housing accommodation or in the provision of services or facilities in connection therewith;

(3) Refuse to receive or transmit a bona fide offer to purchase, rent or lease real property or a housing accommodation from a person;

(4) Represent to a person that real property or a housing accommodation is not available for inspection, sale, rental or lease when in fact it is so available, or refuse to permit a person to inspect real property or a housing accommodation;

(5) Make, print, publish, circulate, post or mail or cause to be made, printed, published, circulated, posted or mailed a notice, statement, advertisement or sign or use a form of application for the purchase, rental or lease of real property or a housing accommodation or make a record of inquiry in connection with the prospective purchase, rental or lease of real property or a housing accommodation, which indicates, directly or indirectly, a limitation, specification or discrimination as to race, color, creed, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin or an intent to make such a limitation, specification or discrimination;

(6) Offer, solicit, accept, use or retain a listing of real property or a housing accommodation for sale, rental or lease with the understanding that a person may be discriminated against in the sale, rental or lease of that real property or housing accommodation or in the furnishing of facilities or services in connection therewith; or

(7) Deny any person access to or membership or participation in any multiple-listing services, real estate brokers' organization or other service, organization or facility relating to the business of selling or renting dwellings, or discriminate against such person in the terms or conditions of such access, membership or participation.

(b) It is a discriminatory practice and it is prohibited for any person to:

(1) Discriminate in the sale or rental of or otherwise make unavailable or deny a dwelling to any buyer or renter because of a handicap of:

a. The buyer or renter;

b. A person residing in or intending to reside in the dwelling after it is so sold, rented or made available; or

c. Any person associated with the buyer or renter; or

(2) 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 with such dwelling, because of a handicap of:

a. The person;

b. A person residing in or intending to reside in the dwelling after it is so sold, rented or made available; or

c. Any person associated with the person.

(1) A refusal to permit, at the expense of the handicapped person, reasonable modifications of existing premises occupied or to be occupied by such person if such modifications may be necessary to afford such person full enjoyment of the premises; except that, in the case of a rental, no modification need be permitted unless the renter first agrees to restore the interior of the premises to the condition that existed before the modification, reasonable wear and tear excepted, unless previously negotiated with the landlord;

(2) A refusal to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services, when such accommodations may be necessary to afford such person equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling; or

(3) In connection with the design and construction of covered multifamily dwellings for first occupancy after March 13, 1991, a failure to design and construct those dwellings in such a manner that:

a. The dwellings have at least one building entrance on an accessible route, unless it is impractical to do so because of terrain or unusual site characteristics; or

b. With respect to dwellings with a building entrance on an accessible route:

1. The public use and common use portions of such dwellings are readily accessible to and usable by handicapped persons;

2. All the doors designed to allow passage into and within all premises within such dwellings are sufficiently wide to allow passage by handicapped persons in wheelchairs; and

3. All premises within such dwellings contain the following features of adaptive design:

i. An accessible route into and through the dwelling;

ii. Light switches, electrical outlets, thermostats and other environmental controls in accessible locations;

iii. Reinforcements in bathroom walls to allow later installation of grab bars; and

iv. Usable kitchens and bathrooms, such that an individual in a wheelchair can maneuver about the space.

(d) Compliance with the appropriate requirements of the American National Standard for buildings and facilities providing accessibility and usability for physically handicapped people, commonly cited as ANSI A117.1, suffices to satisfy the requirements of subsection (c)(3)b of this section.

(e) As used in subsection (c)(3) of this section, the term "covered multifamily dwellings" means:

(1) Buildings consisting of four or more units if such buildings have one or more elevators; and

(2) Ground floor units in other buildings consisting of four or more units.

(f) Nothing in subsections (b) through (e) of this section requires that a dwelling be made available to an individual whose tenancy would constitute a direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals or whose tenancy would result in substantial physical damage to the property of others.

(g) It is a discriminatory practice and it is prohibited for a person in the business of insuring against hazards to refuse to enter into or to discriminate in the terms, conditions or privileges of a contract of insurance against hazards to a housing accommodation or real property because of the race, color, creed, religion, sex or national origin of the person owning or residing in or near the housing accommodations or real property.

(h) It is a discriminatory practice and it is prohibited for a person to coerce, intimidate, threaten or interfere with any person in the exercise or enjoyment of or on account of his having exercised or enjoyed or on account of his having aided or encouraged any other person in the exercise or enjoyment of any right granted or protected by this article.

(i) This section may also be enforced by appropriate civil action.
(Code 1981, § 17-2)

Sec. 50-28. Exemption from section 50-27. back to top

(a) Nothing in section 50-27 shall apply to:

(1) The rental of housing accommodations in a building which contains housing accommodations for not more than two families living independently of each other, if the owner or a member of the owner's family resides in one of the housing accommodations.

(2) The rental of one room or one rooming unit in a housing accommodation by an individual, if such individual or a member of such individual's family resides therein, or, as regards to sex, rooms or rental units where the tenants would be required to share a common bath.

(3) 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, which limits the sale, rental or occupancy of dwellings that it owns or operates for other than a commercial purpose to persons of the same religion or which gives preference to such persons, unless membership in such religion is restricted on account of race, color or national origin.

(4) As regards to sex, the rental of housing accommodations of single-sex dormitory rental properties, including but not limited to those dormitories operated by higher educational institutions.

(b) Nothing in this article shall require a real estate operator to negotiate with any individual who has not shown evidence of financial ability to consummate the purchase or rental of a housing accommodation.

(c) Nothing in subsection (a) of this section 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) Nothing in this article limits the applicability of any reasonable local, state or federal restrictions regarding the maximum number of occupants permitted to occupy a dwelling, nor does any provision in this article regarding familial status apply with respect to dwellings provided under any state or federal program specifically designed and operated to assist elderly persons, as defined in the state or federal program, or to housing for older persons.

(1) As used in this subsection, "housing for older persons" means housing communities consisting of dwellings:

a. Intended for and at least 80 percent occupied by at least one person 55 years of age or older per unit and publishing and adhering to policies and procedures which demonstrate an intent by the owner or manager to provide housing for persons 55 years of age or older.

b. Intended for and occupied solely by persons 62 years of age or older.

(2) Nothing in this article prohibits conduct against a person because such person has been convicted by any court of competent jurisdiction of the illegal manufacture or distribution of a controlled substance as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 USC 802), or as defined in the Tennessee Drug Control Act, compiled in T.C.A. §§ 39-17-401--39-17-432.

(Code 1981, § 17-3)

Sec. 50-29. Discrimination by real estate organizations. back to top

It shall be unlawful to deny any 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 the terms or conditions of such access, membership or participation on account of race, color, religion sex, handicap, familial status or national origin.
(Code 1981, § 17-4)

Sec. 50-30. Duties of human relations subcommittee. back to top

The human relations subcommittee of the city citizens advisory committee is authorized and directed to undertake such educational and conciliatory activities as in its judgment will further the purposes of this article. It may call conferences of persons in the housing industry and other interested parties to acquaint them with this article and the committee's suggested means of implementing it. The subcommittee shall further endeavor, with the advice of the housing industry and other interested parties, to work out programs of voluntary compliance and may advise appropriate city officials on matters of enforcement. The subcommittee may issue reports on such conferences and consultations as it deems appropriate.
(Code 1981, § 17-5)

Sec. 50-31. Complaints; prosecution of violations. back to top

Any person who claims to have been injured by an act made unlawful by this article or who claims that he will be injured by such an act may file a complaint with the chairman of the human relations subcommittee. A complaint shall be filed within 180 days after the alleged unlawful act occurred. Complaints shall be in writing and shall contain such information and shall be in such form as required by the human relations subcommittee. Upon receipt of a complaint the subcommittee shall promptly investigate it and shall complete its investigation within 15 days. If a majority of the human relations subcommittee finds reasonable cause to believe that a violation of this article has occurred or if a person charged with violation of this article refuses to furnish information to the subcommittee, the subcommittee may request the city attorney to prosecute an action in the city court against the person charged in the complaint. Such request shall be in writing. Upon receiving the written request and with the assistance of the aggrieved person and the subcommittee, within 15 days after receiving such request, the city attorney shall be prepared to prosecute an action in the city court, provided a warrant is sworn out by the aggrieved person and served upon the person charged with the offense.
(Code 1981, § 17-6)

Sec. 50-32. Additional remedies. back to top

Nothing in this article requires any person claiming to have been injured by an act made unlawful by this article to exhaust the remedies provided in this article or to prevent any such person from seeking relief at any time under the federal civil rights acts or other applicable legal provisions.
(Code 1981, § 17-7)

Sec. 50-33. Interference, coercion or intimidation. back to top

It shall be unlawful to coerce, intimidate, threaten or interfere with any person in the exercise or enjoyment of or on account of his having exercised or enjoyed or on account of his having aided or encouraged any other person in the exercise or enjoyment of any right granted or protected by this article.
(Code 1981, § 17-8)