Report Title:

Nondiscrimination; Housing; Domestic Violence Victim

 

Description:

Prohibits discrimination against domestic violence victims in real property transactions, specifically housing discrimination.  (SD2)

 


HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

469

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

S.D. 2

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT


 

 

RELATING TO REAL PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 


     SECTION 1.  The purpose of this Act is to prohibit discriminatory practices in real property transactions, specifically housing transactions, because of one's status as a victim of domestic violence.  Recent amendments to the federal Violence Against Women Act of 1998 expressly prohibit federally-funded public housing agencies from terminating a lease due to incidents or threats of domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking.  The legislature finds that these protections should be extended to victims of domestic violence in all real property transactions, as victims of domestic violence are most likely to be seeking new housing due to domestic violence.

     SECTION 2.  Section 515-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new definition to be appropriately inserted and to read as follows:

     ""Victim of domestic violence" means:

     (1)  A person who was the cited victim of a felony or misdemeanor crime of violence committed by a current or former spouse of the victim, by a person with whom the victim shares a child in common, or by a person who is cohabitating with or has cohabitated with the victim;

     (2)  A person who is the victim of stalking as defined by section 711-1106.5;

     (3)  A person who has obtained a current valid temporary restraining order or current valid protective order pursuant to section 586-4 or 586-5.5; or

     (4)  A person who has sought assistance concerning the domestic violence from a community resource, including a domestic violence agency, a minister, a therapist, or other social service agency."

     SECTION 3.  Section 515-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§515-3  Discriminatory practices.  It is a discriminatory practice for an owner or any other person engaging in a real estate transaction, or for a real estate broker or salesperson, because of race, sex, including gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, color, religion, marital status, familial status, ancestry, disability, age, status as a victim of domestic violence, or human immunodeficiency virus infection:

     (1)  To refuse to engage in a real estate transaction with a person;

     (2)  To discriminate against a person in the terms, conditions, or privileges of a real estate transaction or in the furnishing of facilities or services in connection therewith;

     (3)  To refuse to receive or to fail to transmit a bona fide offer to engage in a real estate transaction from a person;

     (4)  To refuse to negotiate for a real estate transaction with a person;

     (5)  To represent to a person that real property is not available for inspection, sale, rental, or lease when in fact it is available, or to fail to bring a property listing to the person's attention, or to refuse to permit the person to inspect real property, or to steer a person seeking to engage in a real estate transaction;

     (6)  To print, circulate, post, or mail, or cause to be published a statement, advertisement, or sign, or to use a form of application for a real estate transaction, or to make a record or inquiry in connection with a prospective real estate transaction, that indicates, directly or indirectly, an intent to make a limitation, specification, or discrimination with respect thereto;

     (7)  To offer, solicit, accept, use, or retain a listing of real property with the understanding that a person may be discriminated against in a real estate transaction or in the furnishing of facilities or services in connection therewith;

     (8)  To refuse to engage in a real estate transaction with a person or to deny equal opportunity to use and enjoy a housing accommodation due to a disability because the person uses the services of a guide dog, signal dog, or service animal; provided that reasonable restrictions or prohibitions may be imposed regarding excessive noise or other problems caused by those animals.  For the purposes of this paragraph:

              "Blind" shall be as defined in section 235-1;

              "Deaf" shall be as defined in section 235-1;

              "Guide dog" means any dog individually trained by a licensed guide dog trainer for guiding a blind person by means of a harness attached to the dog and a rigid handle grasped by the person;

              "Reasonable restriction" shall not include any restriction that allows any owner or person to refuse to negotiate or refuse to engage in a real estate transaction; provided that as used in this paragraph, the "reasonableness" of a restriction shall be examined by giving due consideration to the needs of a reasonable prudent person in the same or similar circumstances.  Depending on the circumstances, a "reasonable restriction" may require the owner of the service animal, guide dog, or signal dog to comply with one or more of the following:

         (A)  Observe applicable laws including leash laws and pick-up laws;

         (B)  Assume responsibility for damage caused by the dog; or

         (C)  Have the housing unit cleaned upon vacating by fumigation, deodorizing, professional carpet cleaning, or other method appropriate under the circumstances.

          The foregoing list is illustrative only, and neither exhaustive nor mandatory;

              "Service animal" means any animal that is trained to provide those life activities limited by the disability of the person;

              "Signal dog" means any dog that is trained to alert a deaf person to intruders or sounds;

     (9)  To solicit or require as a condition of engaging in a real estate transaction that the buyer, renter, or lessee be tested for human immunodeficiency virus infection, the causative agent of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome;

    (10)  To refuse to permit, at the expense of a person with a disability, reasonable modifications to existing premises occupied or to be occupied by the person if modifications may be necessary to afford the person full enjoyment of the premises.  A real estate broker or salesperson, where it is reasonable to do so, may condition permission for a modification on the person agreeing to restore the interior of the premises to the condition that existed before the modification, reasonable wear and tear excepted;

    (11)  To refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services, when the accommodations may be necessary to afford a person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy a housing accommodation;

    (12)  In connection with the design and construction of covered multifamily housing accommodations for first occupancy after March 13, 1991, to fail to design and construct housing accommodations in such a manner that:

         (A)  The housing accommodations have at least one accessible entrance, unless it is impractical to do so because of the terrain or unusual characteristics of the site; and

         (B)  With respect to housing accommodations with an accessible building entrance:

              (i)  The public use and common use portions of the housing accommodations are accessible to and usable by disabled persons;

             (ii)  Doors allow passage by persons in wheelchairs; and

            (iii)  All premises within covered multifamily housing accommodations contain an accessible route into and through the housing accommodations; light switches, electrical outlets, thermostats, and other environmental controls are in accessible locations; reinforcements in the bathroom walls allow installation of grab bars; and kitchens and bathrooms are accessible by wheelchair; or

    (13)  To discriminate against or deny a person access to, or membership or participation in any multiple listing service, real estate broker's organization, or other service, organization, or facility involved either directly or indirectly in real estate transactions, or to discriminate against any person in the terms or conditions of such access, membership, or participation."

     SECTION 4.  Section 515-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§515-5  Discriminatory financial practices.  It is a discriminatory practice for a person, a representative of such person, or a real estate broker or salesperson, to whom an inquiry or application is made for financial assistance in connection with a real estate transaction or for the construction, rehabilitation, repair, maintenance, or improvement of real property, because of race, sex, including gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, color, religion, marital status, familial status, ancestry, disability, age, status as a victim of domestic violence, or human immunodeficiency virus infection:

     (1)  To discriminate against the applicant;

     (2)  To use a form of application for financial assistance or to make or keep a record or inquiry in connection with applications for financial assistance that indicates, directly or indirectly, an intent to make a limitation, specification, or discrimination unless the records are required by federal law;

     (3)  To discriminate in the making or purchasing of loans or the provision of other financial assistance for purchasing, constructing, improving, repairing, or maintaining a dwelling, or the making or purchasing of loans or the provision of other financial assistance secured by residential real estate; or

     (4)  To discriminate in the selling, brokering, or appraising of residential real property."

     SECTION 5.  Section 515-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsections (a) and (b) to read as follows:

     "(a)  Every provision in an oral agreement or a written instrument relating to real property that purports to forbid or restrict the conveyance, encumbrance, occupancy, or lease thereof to individuals because of race, sex, including gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, color, religion, marital status, familial status, ancestry, disability, age, status as a victim of domestic violence, or human immunodeficiency virus infection, is void.

     (b)  Every condition, restriction, or prohibition, including a right of entry or possibility of reverter, that directly or indirectly limits the use or occupancy of real property on the basis of race, sex, including gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, color, religion, marital status, familial status, ancestry, disability, age, status as a victim of domestic violence, or human immunodeficiency virus infection is void, except a limitation, on the basis of religion, on the use of real property held by a religious institution or organization or by a religious or charitable organization operated, supervised, or controlled by a religious institution or organization, and used for religious or charitable purposes."

     SECTION 6.  Section 515-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§515-7  Blockbusting.  It is a discriminatory practice for a person, representative of a person, or a real estate broker or salesperson, for the purpose of inducing a real estate transaction from which the person, representative, or real estate broker or salesperson may benefit financially, because of race, sex, including gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, color, religion, marital status, familial status, ancestry, disability, age, status as a victim of domestic violence, or human immunodeficiency virus infection:

     (1)  To represent that a change has occurred or will or may occur in the composition of the owners or occupants in the block, neighborhood, or area in which the real property is located; or

     (2)  To represent that this change will or may result in the lowering of property values, an increase in criminal or antisocial behavior, or a decline in the quality of schools in the block, neighborhood, or area in which the real property is located."

     SECTION 7.  Section 521-74, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§521-74  Retaliatory evictions and rent increases prohibited[.]; other prohibited actions.  (a)  Notwithstanding that the tenant has no written rental agreement or that it has expired, so long as the tenant continues to tender the usual rent to the landlord or proceeds to tender receipts for rent lawfully withheld, no action or proceeding to recover possession of the dwelling unit may be maintained against the tenant, nor shall the landlord otherwise cause the tenant to quit the dwelling unit involuntarily, nor demand an increase in rent from the tenant; nor decrease the services to which the tenant has been entitled, after:

     (1)  The tenant has complained in good faith to the department of health, landlord, building department, office of consumer protection, or any other governmental agency concerned with landlord-tenant disputes of conditions in or affecting the tenant's dwelling unit which constitutes a violation of a health law or regulation or of any provision of this chapter; or

     (2)  The department of health or other governmental agency has filed a notice or complaint of a violation of a health law or regulation or any provision of this chapter; or

     (3)  The tenant has in good faith requested repairs under section 521-63 or 521-64.

     (b)  Notwithstanding that the tenant has no written rental agreement or that it has expired, so long as the tenant continues to tender the usual rent to the landlord or proceeds to tender receipts for rent lawfully withheld, no action or proceeding to recover possession of the dwelling unit may be maintained against the tenant, nor shall the landlord otherwise cause the tenant to quit the dwelling unit involuntarily, because of the tenant’s status as a victim of domestic violence, as defined under section 515-2.  Nothing in this subsection shall prevent the landlord from establishing and proving a legitimate non-discriminatory reason for an action or proceeding to recover possession of the dwelling unit.

     (c)  Notwithstanding [subsection] subsections (a)[,] and (b), the landlord may recover possession of the dwelling unit if:

     (1)  The tenant is committing waste, or a nuisance, or is using the dwelling unit for an illegal purpose or for other than living or dwelling purposes in violation of the tenant's rental agreement;

     (2)  The landlord seeks in good faith to recover possession of the dwelling unit for immediate use as the landlord's own abode or that of the landlord's immediate family;

     (3)  The landlord seeks in good faith to recover possession of the dwelling unit for the purpose of substantially altering, remodeling, or demolishing the premises;

     (4)  The complaint or request of subsection (a) relates only to a condition or conditions caused by the lack of ordinary care by the tenant or another person in the tenant's household or on the premises with the tenant's consent;

     (5)  The landlord has received from the department of health certification that the dwelling unit and other property and facilities used by or affecting the use and enjoyment of the tenant were on the date of filing of the complaint or request in compliance with health laws and regulations;

     (6)  The landlord has in good faith contracted to sell the property, and the contract of sale contains a representation by the purchaser corresponding to paragraph (2) or (3); or

     (7)  The landlord is seeking to recover possession on the basis of a notice to terminate a periodic tenancy, which notice was given to the tenant previous to the complaint or request of subsection (a)[.] or the landlord's knowledge of the tenant's status as a victim of domestic violence under subsection (b).

     [(c)] (d) Any tenant from whom possession has been recovered or who has been otherwise involuntarily dispossessed, in violation of this section, is entitled to recover the damages sustained by the tenant and the cost of suit, including reasonable attorney's fees.

     [(d)] (e)  Notwithstanding subsection (a), the landlord may increase the rent if:

     (1)  The landlord has received from the department of health certification that the dwelling unit and other property and facilities used by and affecting the use and enjoyment of the tenant were on the date of filing of the complaint or request of subsection (a) in compliance with health laws and regulations;

     (2)  The landlord has become liable for a substantial increase in property taxes, or a substantial increase in other maintenance or operating costs not associated with the landlord's complying with the complaint or request, not less than four months prior to the demand for an increase in rent; and the increase in rent does not exceed the prorated portion of the net increase in taxes or costs;

     (3)  The landlord has completed a capital improvement of the dwelling unit or the property of which it is a part and the increase in rent does not exceed the amount which may be claimed for federal income tax purposes as a straight-line depreciation of the improvement, prorated among the dwelling units benefited by the improvement;

     (4)  The complaint or request of subsection (a) relates only to a condition or conditions caused by the want of due care by the tenant or another person of the tenant's household or on the premises with the tenant's consent; or

     (5)  The landlord can establish, by competent evidence, that the rent now demanded of the tenant does not exceed the rent charged other tenants of similar dwelling units in the landlord's building or, in the case of a single-family residence or where there is no similar dwelling unit in the building, does not exceed the market rental value of the dwelling unit."

     SECTION 8.  If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the Act, which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are severable.

     SECTION 9.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 10.  This Act shall take effect on June 30, 2099.