1981-033AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF
DENTON, TEXAS BY ADDING THERETO A CHAPTER 27 ENTITLED "FAIR
HOUSING" BY PROVIDING A SHORT TITLE, DECLARING THE POLICY OF
THE CITY AGAINST DISCRIMINATION IN HOUSING, DEFINING TERMS,
PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION IN THE SALE OR RENTAL OF HOUSING,
PROVIDING FOR CERTAIN EXEMPTIONS AND EXCLUSIONS, PROVIDING FOR
THE ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF THIS CHAPTER, PROVIDING
FOR REMEDIES, FORBIDDING INTERFERENCE, COERCION, OR
INTIMIDATION, PROVIDING FOR COOPERATION WITH FEDERAL AND STATE
AGENCIES, PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, PROVIDING A PENALTY,
PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION, AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAINS
PART I
That the Code of Ordinances of the City of Denton, Texas,
as amended, is hereby amended by adding a Chapter 27 to the
contents thereof, which said Chapter shall read as follows
CHAPTER 27
FAIR HOUSING
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section 27-1 Short Title
Section 27-2 Declaration of Policy
Section 27-3 Definitions
Section 27-4 Discriminatory Housing Practices
Section 27-5 Discrimination in Financing of Housing
Section 27-6 Discrimination in Provision of Brokerage
Services
Section 27-7 Exemptions ~ Exclusions
Section 27-8 Administration
Section 27-9 Enforcement
Section 27-10 Cumulative Legal Effect
Section 27-11 Interference, Coercion, or Intimidation
Section 27-12 Cooperation with Federal and State Agencies
Section 27-13 Education ~ Public Information
SECTION 27-1 SHORT TITLE
This Chapter may be cited as the Denton Fair Housing
Ordinance
~CTION 27-2 DECLARATION OF POLICY
It is the policy of the City of Denton, Texas, to provide
within constitutional limitations, for fair housing throughout
the City of Denton by insuring the opportunity for every person
to obtain housing without regard to race, color, sex, religion,
or national origin
SECTION 27-5 DEFINITIONS
As used ~n this Chapter, unless the context requires a
different definition
1 "Administrator" means the individual serving as the
Fair Housing Administrator and includes the assistants, agents,
or employees designated by the administrator
2 "Dwelling" means any building, structure, or portion
thereof which ~s 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
3 "Family" Includes a single individual
4 "Person" 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, fiduciaries, and any other organization
or entity of whatever character
S "To Rent" ~ncludes to lease, to sublease, to let and
otherwise to grant for a consideration the right to occupy
premises not owned by the occupant
6 "Discriminatory Housing Practice" means an act that is
unlawful under Section 27-4 of this Chapter
SECTION 27-4 DISCRIMINATORY HOUSING PRACTICES
Except as exempted by Section 27-7 of this Chapter, it
shall be unlawful for any person
(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, sex, 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 prowslon of services or facilities in connection
PAGE 2
therewith, because of race, color, religion, sex, or national
or,gin
(c) To make, print, or publish, or cause to be made,
printed, or published any not~ce, 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, 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, sex, or national orlg~n that any dwelling ~s not
available for ~nspectlon, sale, or rental when such dwelling ~s
in fact so available
(e) For profit, to induce or attempt to ~nduce any person
to sell or rent any dwelling by representatives regarding the
entry or prospective entry into the neighborhood of a person or
persons of a particular race, color, religion, sex, or national
origin
SECTION 27-S DISCRIMINATION IN FINANCING OF HOUSING
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 part in the making of commercial real estate loans, to
deny a loan or other f~nanc~al assistance to a person applying
therefor for the purpose of purchasing, constructing,
improving, repairing, or maintaining a dwelling, or to
d~scnm~nate against any such person in the f~xlng of the
amount, interest rate, duration, or other such terms or
conditions of such loan or other financial assistance, because
of
(a) the race, color, religion, sex, or national or,gin
of such person or of any person associated w~th
h~m ~n connection with such loan or other
f~nanc~al assistance or the purposes of such loan
or other financial assistance, or
(b) the race, color, religion, sex, or national or~g~n
of the present or prospective owners, lessees,
tenants, or occupants of the dwelling or dwellings
~n relation to which such loan or other f~nanc~al
assistance ~s to be made or g~ven
PAGE
SECTION 27-6 DISCRIMINATION IN PROVISION
OF BROKERAGE SERVICES
It shall be unlawful for any person to deny 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 in
partlclpatlon~ on account of race, color, religion, sex, or
national origin
SECTION 27-7 EXEMPTIONS ~ EXCLUSIONS
(a) Nothing in Section 27-4 of this Chapter {other than
subsection (c)) shall apply to
1 Any single-family house sold or rented by an
owner, provided,
(a) that such private individual owner
does not own more than three such
single-family houses at any one time,
(b) 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 only with respect to one
such sale w~thln any twenty-four month
period,
(c) 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 of, more than three
such single-family houses at any one
time,
{d) the sale or rental of any such single-
family house shall be excepted from
the application of this section 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 Section
PAGE 4
27-4(c) of this Chapter, but nothing
in this provision shall prohibit the
use of attorneys, escrow agents,
abstractors, title companies, and
other such pro£esslonal assistance as
necessary to perfect or transfer the
title
2 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
$ Rental of a single room in a dwelling
containing living quarters occupied by no more
than one family if the person offering such
room for rental actually maintains and occupies
the remainder of such dwelling as his residence
and not more than four such rooms are offered
{b) For the purposes of section [a) of this section, a
person shall be deemed to be in the business of selling or
renting dwellings if
1 the person has, within the preceedlng twelve
months, participated as principal in three or
more transactions involving the sale or rental
of any dwelling or any interest therein, or
2 the person has, within the preceedlng twelve
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
5 the person is the owner of any dwelling
designed or intended for occupancy by, five or
more families
(c) Nothing in this Chapter 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 llmltlng the sale, 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
(d) Nothing in this Chapter shall prohibit a private club
not in fact open to the public, which as an incident to its
PAGE 5
primary purpose or purposes prowdes lodging which ~t owns or
operates for other than a commercial purpose, from l~m~t~ng the
rental or occupancy of such lodgings to ~ts members or from
g~wng preference to ~ts members
(e) Nothing in th~s Chapter shall prohibit any person from
owning and operating a dwelling ~n which a room or rooms are
leased, subleased or rented only to persons of the same sex,
when such dwelling contains one common lavatory and k~tchen
facility available for the use of all persons occupying such
dwelling
SECTION 27-8 ADMINISTRATION
(a) The authority and responsibility for administering th~s
Chapter shall be the ~nd~wdual appointed as the Fair Housing
Administrator by the C~ty Manager of the C~ty of Denton, Texas
(b) The Administrator may delegate any of h~s functions,
duties, and powers to employees of the C~ty of Denton under h~s
d~rect~on, ~nclud~ng functions, duties and powers w~th respect
to ~nvest~gat~ng, conciliating, hearing, determining, ordering,
certifying, reporting, or otherwise acting as to any work,
bus,ness, or matter under th~s Chapter
SECTION 27-9 ENFORCEMENT
(a) Any person who claims to have been ~n3ured by a
d~scr,m~natory housing practice or who believes that he w~ll be
~rrevocably ~n3ured by a d,scr~m~natory housing practice that
~s about to occur (hereinafter "person aggrieved") may f~le a
complaint w~th the Administrator Complaints shall be ~n
writing and shall contain such ~nformat~on and be ~n such form
as the Adm~n,strator requires Upon receipt of such complaint
the 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 A copy of
all written complaints received by the Adm~n,strator shall be
forwarded to the Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity D~v~s~on of
the Region VI Off~ce of the Department of Housing and Urban
Development W~thin thirty (50) days after rece~wng a
PAGE 6
complaint, the Administrator shall investigate the complaint
the complaint and give notice ~n writing to the person
aggrieved whether he intends to resolve it If the
Administrator dec~des to resolve the complaint, he shall
proceed to try to eliminate or correct the alleged
d~scrm~natory housing practice by ~nformal methods of
conference, conciliation, and persuasion Nothing sa~d or done
~n the course of such ~nformal endeavors may be made public or
used as evidence ~n a subsequent proceeding under th~s Chapter
w~thout the written consent of the persons concerned
(b) A complaint under subsection (a) of this section shall
be flied within thirty (30) days after the alleged
d~scnmxnatory housing practice occurred Complaints shall be
~n 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 any t~me A respondent may
f~le a written answer to the complaint against h~m w~th~n ten
(10) days of receipt of notification, and may amend his answer
at any t~me Both complaints, answers, and amendments shall be
verified
(c) If within s~xty (60) days after a complaint ~s filed
w~th the Administrator, the Administrator has been unable to
obtain voluntary complzance w~th th~s Chapter, and ~f the
Administrator reasonably believes that a dzscr~m~natory housing
practice or practices have occurred, the Administrator shall
refer such violation or wolatlons to the City Attorney for
prosecution If the City Attorney determines to prosecute, he
shall commence proceedings ~n the matter ~n the Municipal Court
and carry forward such proceedings w~th reasonable promptness
(d) The Municipal Court ~n which a proceeding is instituted
under th~s Chapter shall asszgn the case for hearing at the
earliest practzcable date and cause the case to be ~n every way
expedited
(e) The Administrator shall receive and accept notification
and referral complaints from the U S Attorney General and the
PAGE 7
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development pursuant to the
prowslons of t~tle VIII, Fair Housing Act of 1968, Public Law
90-284, as amended (42 U S C Sec $610), and shall treat such
complaints ~n the same manner as other complaints f~led
pursuant to th~s section
(f) Whenever the Administrator has reasonable cause to
believe that any person or group of persons ~s engaged ~n a
pattern or practice of resistance to the full enjoyment of any
of the r~ghts granted by th~s Chapter, or that any group of
persons has been den~ed any of the r~ghts granted by th~s
Chapter, he may prepare and f~le a complaint setting forth the
facts ~n h~s own name and such complaint shall be treated ~n
the same manner as a complaint f~led by a person aggrieved
SECTION 27-10 CUMULATIVE LEGAL EFFECT
Th~s Chapter is cumulative ~n ~ts legal effect and ~s not
~n l~eu of any and all other legal remedies which the person
aggrieved may pursue
SECTION 27-11 INTERFERENCE, COERCION, OR INTIMIDATION
It shall be unlawful to coerce, ~nt~m~date, threaten, or
interfere w~th any person ~n the exercise or enjoyment of, or
on account of h~s hav~ng exercised or enjoyed, or on account of
h~s having a~ded or encouraged any other person ~n the exercise
or enjoyment of, any right granted or protected by Section
27-4, 27-5, 27-6, or 27-7 of th~s Chapter
SECTION 27-12 COOPERATION WITH FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES
The Administrator and C~ty Attorney are authorized to
cooperate w~th federal and state agencies charged w~th the
administration of fair housing laws
S~CTION 27-15 EDUCATION AND PUBLIC INFORMATION
In order to further the ~ntent and objectives of th~s
Chapter, the Administrator may conduct educational and public
~nformatlon programs
PART II
If any provision, section, subsection, sentence clause,
phrase or word ~n th~s ordinance, or application thereof to any
PAGE 8
person or circumstances is held invalid, unconstitutional, or
for any reason unenforceable by a court of competent
0ur~sdlctlon, such holding shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of th~s ordinance, and the application of
the provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or
word to other persons or c~rcumstances shall not be affected
thereby, ~t being the ~ntent of the C~ty Council of the C~ty of
Denton, Texas, ~n adopting and approwng th~s ordinance that
all provisions, sections, subsections, sentences, clauses,
phrases or words be severable
PART III
A person who wolates th~s ordinance ~s guilty of a
separate m~sdemeanor offense for each day or port~on of a day
on which the wolat~on ~s committed, and each offense ~s
punishable by a f~ne of not more than Two Hundred Dollars
($Z00 00)
PART IV
That thxs ordxnance shall become effective fourteen
days from the date of its passage, and the Cxt¥ Secretary xs
hereby dxrected to cause the captxon of thxs ordxnance to be
publxshed twxce xn the Denton Record-Chronxcle, the offxclal
newspaper of the Cxty of Denton, Texas, wxthxn ten (10) days of
the date of its passage
PASSED AND APPROVED th~s the ~f~ day of f~/~ ,
1981
AR~, MAYOR
TEXAS
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM
C J TAYLOR, JR , CITY ATTORNEY
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
PAGE 9