213.040. Unlawful housing practices--discrimination in housing--sufficient compliance with other standards--local government compliance--construction of law--housing for older persons, defined--convic

MISSOURI STATUTES AND CODES

213.040. Unlawful housing practices--discrimination in housing--sufficient compliance with other standards--local government compliance--construction of law--housing for older persons, defined--convic

Unlawful housing practices--discrimination in housing--sufficientcompliance with other standards--local governmentcompliance--construction of law--housing for older persons,defined--conviction for controlled substances, effect--religiousorganizations, effect of.

213.040. 1. It shall be an unlawful housing practice:

(1) To refuse to sell or rent after the making of a bona fide offer,to refuse to negotiate for the sale or rental of, to deny or otherwise makeunavailable, a dwelling to any person because of race, color, religion,national origin, ancestry, sex, disability, or familial status;

(2) To discriminate against any person in the terms, conditions, orprivileges of sale or rental of a dwelling, or in the provision of servicesor facilities in connection therewith, because of race, color, religion,national origin, ancestry, sex, disability, or familial status;

(3) To make, print, or publish, or cause to be made, printed, orpublished any notice, statement or advertisement, with respect to the saleor rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation, ordiscrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry,sex, disability, or familial status, or an intention to make any suchpreference, limitation, or discrimination;

(4) To represent to any person because of race, color, religion,national origin, ancestry, sex, disability, or familial status that anydwelling is not available for inspection, sale, or rental when suchdwelling is in fact so available;

(5) To induce or attempt to induce any person to sell or rent anydwelling by representations regarding the entry or prospective entry intothe neighborhood of a person or persons of a particular race, color,religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, disability, or familial status;

(6) To discriminate in the sale or rental of*, or to otherwise makeunavailable or deny, a dwelling to any buyer or renter because of adisability of:

(a) That buyer or renter;

(b) A person residing in or intending to reside in that dwellingafter it is so sold, rented, or made available; or

(7) To discriminate against any person in the terms, conditions, orprivileges of sale or rental of a dwelling, or in the provision of servicesor facilities in connection with such dwelling, because of a disability of:

(a) That person;

(b) A person residing in or intending to reside in that dwellingafter it is so sold, rented, or made available; or

2. For purposes of this section and sections 213.045 and 213.050,discrimination includes:

(1) A refusal to permit, at the expense of the person with thedisability, reasonable modifications of existing premises occupied or to beoccupied by such person if such modifications may be necessary to affordsuch person full enjoyment of the premises, except that, in the case of arental, the landlord may, where it is reasonable to do so, conditionpermission for a modification on the renter's agreeing to restore theinterior of the premises to the condition that existed before themodification, reasonable wear and tear excepted;

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

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

(a) The public use and common use portions of such dwellings arereadily accessible to and usable by persons with a disability;

(b) All the doors designed to allow passage into and within allpremises within such dwellings are sufficiently wide to allow passage bypersons with a disability in wheelchairs; and

a. An accessible route into and through the dwelling;

b. Light switches, electrical outlets, thermostats, and otherenvironmental controls in accessible locations;

c. Reinforcements in bathroom walls to allow later installation ofgrab bars; and

d. Usable kitchens and bathrooms such that an individual in awheelchair can maneuver about the space.

3. As used in subdivision (3) of subsection 2 of this section, theterm "covered multifamily dwelling" means:

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

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

4. Compliance with the appropriate requirements of the AmericanNational Standard for Buildings and Facilities providing accessibility andusability for people with physical disabilities, commonly cited as "ANSIA117.1", suffices to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (a) ofsubdivision (3) of subsection 2 of this section.

5. Where a unit of general local government has incorporated into itslaws the requirements set forth in subdivision (3) of subsection 2 of thissection, compliance with such laws shall be deemed to satisfy therequirements of that subdivision. Such compliance shall be subject to thefollowing provisions:

(1) A unit of general local government may review and approve newlyconstructed covered multifamily dwellings for the purpose of makingdeterminations as to whether the design and construction requirements ofsubdivision (3) of subsection 2 of this section are met;

(2) The commission shall encourage, but may not require, the units oflocal government to include in their existing procedures for the review andapproval of newly constructed covered multifamily dwellings, determinationsas to whether the design and construction of such dwellings are consistentwith subdivision (3) of subsection 2 of this section, and shall providetechnical assistance to units of local government and other persons toimplement the requirements of subdivision (3) of subsection 2 of thissection;

(3) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to require thecommission to review or approve the plans, designs or construction of allcovered dwellings, to determine whether the design and construction of suchdwellings are consistent with the requirements of subdivision (3) ofsubsection 2 of this section.

6. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to invalidate or limitany law of the state or political subdivision of the state, or otherjurisdiction in which this chapter shall be effective, that requiresdwellings to be designed and constructed in a manner that affords personswith disabilities greater access than is required by this chapter.

7. Nothing in this section and sections 213.045 and 213.050 requiresthat a dwelling be made available to an individual whose tenancy wouldconstitute a direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals orwhose tenancy would result in substantial physical damage to the propertyof others.

8. Nothing in this section and sections 213.045 and 213.050 limitsthe applicability of any reasonable local or state restriction regardingthe maximum number of occupants permitted to occupy a dwelling, nor doesany provision in this section and sections 213.045 and 213.050 regardingfamilial status apply with respect to housing for older persons.

9. As used in this section and sections 213.045 and 213.050, "housingfor older persons" means housing:

(1) Provided under any state or federal program that the commissiondetermines is specifically designed and operated to assist elderly persons,as defined in the state or federal program;

(2) Intended for, and solely occupied by, persons sixty-two years ofage or older; or

(3) Intended and operated for occupancy by at least one personfifty-five years of age or older per unit. In determining whether housingqualifies as housing for older persons under this subsection, thecommission shall develop regulations which require at least the followingfactors:

(a) The existence of significant facilities and services specificallydesigned to meet the physical or social needs of older persons, or if theprovision of such facilities and services is not practicable, that suchhousing is necessary to provide important housing opportunities for olderpersons; and

(b) That at least eighty percent of the units are occupied by atleast one person fifty-five years of age or older per unit; and

(c) The publication of, and adherence to, policies and procedureswhich demonstrate an intent by the owner or manager to provide housing forpersons fifty-five years of age or older.

10. Housing shall not fail to meet the requirements for housing forolder persons by reason of:

(1) Persons residing in such housing as of August 28, 1992, who donot meet the age requirements of subdivision (2) or (3) of subsection 9 ofthis section, provided that new occupants of such housing meet the agerequirements of subdivision (2) or (3) of subsection 9 of this section; or

(2) Unoccupied units, provided that such units are reserved foroccupancy by persons who meet the age requirements of subdivision (2) or(3) of subsection 9 of this section.

11. Nothing in this section or section 213.045 or 213.050 shallprohibit conduct against a person because such person has been convicted byany court of competent jurisdiction of the illegal manufacture ordistribution of a controlled substance, as defined by section 195.010,RSMo.

12. Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit a religious organization,association, or society, or any nonprofit institution or organizationoperated, supervised or controlled by or in conjunction with a religiousorganization, association, or society, from limiting the sale, rental oroccupancy of dwellings which it owns or operates for other than acommercial purpose to persons of the same religion, or from givingpreference to such persons, unless membership in such religion isrestricted on account of race, color, or national origin. Nor shallanything in this chapter prohibit a private club not in fact open to thepublic, which as an incident to its primary purpose or purposes provideslodging which it owns or operates for other than a commercial purpose, fromlimiting the rental or occupancy of such lodging to its members or fromgiving preference to its members.

13. Nothing in this chapter, other than the prohibitions againstdiscriminatory advertising in subdivision (3) of subsection 1 of thissection, shall apply to:

(1) The sale or rental of any single family house by a privateindividual owner, provided the following conditions are met:

(a) The private individual owner does not own or have any interest inmore than three single family houses at any one time; and

(b) The house is sold or rented without the use of a real estatebroker, agent or salesperson or the facilities of any person in thebusiness of selling or renting dwellings and without publication, postingor mailing of any advertisement. If the owner selling the house does notreside in it at the time of the sale or was not the most recent resident ofthe house prior to such sale, the exemption in this section applies to onlyone such sale in any twenty-four-month period; or

(2) Rooms or units in dwellings containing living quarters occupiedor intended to be occupied by no more than four families livingindependently of each other, if the owner actually maintains and occupiesone of such living quarters as his or her residence.