It is the policy of the City of Maize, Kansas, to provide, within constitutional limitations, for fair housing throughout the City.
(a) City means the City of Maize, Kansas.
(b) City Administrator means the City Administrator for the City or his/her designee.
(c) Dwelling means any building, structure, or portion thereof which is occupied as, or designed or intended for occupancy as, a residence by one
(1) 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.
(d) Family includes a single individual.
(e) Person includes one (1) 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.
(f) To Rent includes to lease, to sublease, to let and otherwise to grant for a consideration the right to occupy premises owned by the occupant.
(g) Discriminatory Housing Practice means an act that is unlawful under Sections 6A-104, 6A-105, or 6A-106.
(Ord. 689, Sec. 2)
Subject to the provisions of subsection 6A-103(b) herein and Section 6A-107 hereafter, the prohibitions against discrimination in the sale or rent of housing set forth in Chapter 6A, Article I, of the Code of the City shall apply to:
(a) All Dwellings except as exempted by subsection (b).
(b) Nothing in Section 6A-104 shall apply to:
(1) Any single-family house sold or rented by an owner; provided that such private individual owner does not own more than three (3) 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 most recent resident of such house prior to such sale, the exemption granted by this subsection shall apply with respect to one (1) such sale within any twenty-four (24) 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 or any right to all or a portion of the proceeds from the sale or rental of more than three (3) such single-family houses at any one time; provided, further, that the sale or rental of any such single-family house shall be excepted from the application of this title only if such house is sold or rented (i) within 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 agency of any such broker, agent, salesman, or Person and (ii) without the publication, posting or mailing, after notices of any advertisement or written notice in violation of Section 6A-104(c) 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 necessary to perfect or transfer the title; or,
(2) Rooms or units in Dwellings containing living quarters occupied or intended to be occupied by no more than four (4) families living independently of each other, if the owner actually maintains and occupies one (1) of such living quarters as his residence.
(c) For the purposes of subsection (b), a Person shall be deemed to be in the business of selling or renting Dwellings if:
(1) they have, within the preceding twelve (12) months, participated as principal in three (3) or more transactions involving the sale or rental of any Dwelling or any interest therein; or
(2) they have, within the preceding twelve (12) months, participated as agent, other than the sale of his own personal residence, in providing sales or rental facilities or sale or rental services in two (2) or more transactions involving the sale or rental of any interest therein; or,
(3) they are the owner of any Dwelling designed or intended for occupancy by, or occupied by, five (5) or more families.
(Ord. 689, Sec. 3)
As made applicable by Section 6A-103 and except as exempted by Sections 6A-103(b) and 6A-107 herein, it shall be unlawful:
(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 unavailable or deny, a Dwelling to any Person because of race, color, religion 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 provision of services or facilities in connection therewith, because of race, color, religion 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 or national origin, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination;
(d) to represent to any Person because of race, color, religion 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 or national origin.
(Ord. 689, Sec. 4)
It shall be unlawful 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 therefore 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 loan or other financial assistance, because of race, color, religion 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 the 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 Section 6A-103(b).
(Ord. 689, Sec. 5)
It shall be unlawful to deny any Person access to or membership or participation in any multi-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 or national origin.
(Ord. 689, Sec. 6)
Nothing in this Article shall prohibit a religious organization, association, or society or any non-profit institution or organization operated, supervised or controlled by or in conjunction with a religious organization, association or society, from limiting the sale, or rental or occupancy of Dwellings which it owns or operates for other than a commercial purpose to Persons of the same religion, or from giving preference to such Persons, unless membership in such religion is restricted on account of race, color or national origin. Nor shall anything in this Article prohibit 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 commercial purposes, from limiting the rental or occupancy of such lodgings to its members or from giving preference to its members.
(Ord. 689, Sec. 7)
(a) The authority and responsibility for administering this Article shall be the City Administrator.
(b) The City Administrator may delegate any of these functions, duties and powers to employees of the City or to Boards of such employees, including functions, duties, and powers with respect to investigating, conciliating, hearing, determining, ordering, certifying, reporting or otherwise acting as to any work, business, or matter under this Article.
(Ord. 689, Sec. 8)
Immediately after the enactment of this Article, the City Administrator shall commence such educational and conciliatory activities as will further the purposes of this Article. The City Administrator shall call conferences of Persons in the housing industry and other interested parties to acquaint them with the provisions of this Article and his/her suggested means of implementing it and shall endeavor with their advice to work out programs of voluntary compliance and of enforcement.
(Ord. 689, Sec. 9)
(a) Any Person who claims to have been injured by Discriminatory Housing Practice or who believes that he will be irrevocably injured by a Discriminatory Housing Practice that is about to occur (hereafter “Person aggrieved”) may file a complaint with the City Administrator. Complaints shall be in writing and shall contain such information and be in such form as the City Administrator requires. Upon receipt of such a complaint, the City Administrator shall furnish a copy of the same to the Person or Persons who allegedly committed or are about to commit the alleged Discriminatory Housing Practice. Within thirty (30) days after receiving a complaint or within thirty (30) days after the expiration of any period of reference under Subsection (c) herein, the City Administrator shall investigate the complaint and give notice in writing to the Person aggrieved whether he/she intends to resolve it. If the City Administrator decides to resolve the complaints, he/she shall proceed to try to eliminate or correct the alleged Discriminatory Housing Practice by informal methods of conference, conciliation and persuasion.
(b) A complaint under subsection (a) shall be filed within one hundred eighty (180) days after the alleged Discriminatory Housing Practice occurred. Complaints shall be in writing and shall state the facts upon which the allegations of a Discriminatory Housing Practice are based. Complaints may be reasonably and fairly amended at anytime. A respondent may file an answer to the complaint against him and with the leave of the City Administrator, which shall be granted whenever it would be reasonable and fair to do so, may amend his answer at anytime.
(c) If, within thirty (30) days after a complaint is filed with the City Administrator, he/she has been unable to obtain voluntary compliance with this Article, the Person aggrieved may, within thirty (30) days thereafter, file a complaint with the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The City Administrator will assist in this filing
(Ord. 689, Sec. 10)
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 Sections 6A-103, 6A-104, 6A-105 and 6A-106.
(Ord. 689, Sec. 11)
If any provision of this Article or the application thereof to any Person or circumstances is held invalid, the remainder of the Article and the application of the provision to other Persons not similarly situated or to other circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
(Ord. 689, Sec. 12)
Any Person convicted of a violation of any provision of this Article shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to jail confinement for a period of not to exceed one (1) year and a fine in an amount not to exceed Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($2,500.00).
(Ord. 689, Sec. 13)