§ 160A-499.2. Fair housing ordinances in certain municipalities. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 160A‑499.2.  Fairhousing ordinances in certain municipalities.

(a)        A municipalityshall have the power to adopt ordinances prohibiting discrimination on thebasis of race, color, sex, religion, handicap, familial status, or nationalorigin in real estate transactions. The ordinances may regulate or prohibit anyact, practice, activity, or procedure related, directly or indirectly, to thesale or rental of public or private housing, which affects or may tend toaffect the availability or desirability of housing on an equal basis to allpersons; may provide that violations constitute a criminal offense; may subjectthe offender to civil penalties; and may provide that the municipality mayenforce the ordinances by application to the Superior Court Division of theGeneral Court of Justice for appropriate legal and equitable remedies,including mandatory and prohibitory injunctions and orders of abatement,attorneys' fees, and punitive damages, and the court shall have jurisdiction togrant the remedies.

(b)        A municipality alsoshall have the power to amend any ordinance adopted pursuant to the provisionscontained in subsection (a) of this section to ensure that the ordinanceremains substantially equivalent to the federal Fair Housing Act (41 U.S.C. §§3601, et seq.). Any ordinance enacted pursuant to this section prohibitingdiscrimination on the basis of familial status shall not apply to housing forolder persons, as defined in the federal Fair Housing Act (41 U.S.C. §§ 3601,et seq.).

(c)        Any ordinance enactedpursuant to this section may provide for exemption from its coverage:

(1)        The rental of ahousing accommodation in a building containing accommodations for not more thanfour families living independently of each other if the lessor or a member ofhis family resides in one of those accommodations.

(2)        The rental of a roomor rooms in a housing accommodation by an individual if he or a member of hisfamily resides there.

(3)        With respect todiscrimination based on sex, the rental or leasing of housing accommodations insingle‑sex dormitory property.

(4)        With respect todiscrimination based on religion to housing accommodations owned and operatedfor other than a commercial purpose by 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, the sale, rental, or occupancy of the housing accommodation beinglimited or preference being given to persons of the same religion, unlessmembership in the religion is restricted because of race, color, nationalorigin, or sex.

(5)        Any person,otherwise subject to its provisions, who adopts and carries out a plan toeliminate present effects of past discriminatory practices or to assure equalopportunity in real estate transactions, if the plan is part of a conciliationagreement entered into by that person under the provisions of the ordinance.

(d)        A municipality maycreate or designate a committee to assume the duty and responsibility ofenforcing ordinances adopted pursuant to this section. The committee may begranted any authority deemed necessary by the city council for the properenforcement of any fair housing ordinance, including the power to:

(1)        Promulgate rules forthe receipt, initiation, investigation, and conciliation of complaints ofviolations of the ordinance.

(2)        Require answers tointerrogatories, the production of documents and things, and the entry uponland and premises in the possession of a party to a complaint alleging aviolation of the ordinance; compel the attendance of witnesses at hearings;administer oaths; and examine witnesses under oath or affirmation.

(3)        Apply to theSuperior Court Division of the General Court of Justice, upon the failure ofany person to respond to or comply with a lawful interrogatory, request forproduction of documents and things, request to enter upon land and premises, orsubpoena, for an order requiring the person to respond or comply.

(4)        Upon findingreasonable cause to believe that a violation of the ordinance has occurred, topetition the Superior Court Division of the General Court of Justice forappropriate civil relief on behalf of the aggrieved person or persons.

(e)        A municipality mayprovide that neither complaints filed with any committee pursuant to theordinance nor the results of the committee's investigations, discovery, orattempts at conciliation, in whatever form prepared and preserved, shall besubject to inspection, examination, or copying under the provisions of what isnow Chapter 132 of the General Statutes.

(f)         A municipality mayprovide that the statutory provisions relating to meetings of governmentalbodies, presently embodied in Article 33C of Chapter 143 of the GeneralStatutes, shall not apply to the activity of any committee authorized toenforce the ordinance to the extent that the committee is receiving a complaintor conducting an investigation, discovery, or conciliation pertaining to acomplaint filed pursuant to the ordinance.

(g)        This sectionapplies only to municipalities that have a permanent population of 90,000 ormore according to the most recent decennial census and that are the location ofa recurring special accommodation event requiring temporary accommodations forat least 50,000 people. For purposes of this section, the term "recurringspecial accommodation event" means a trade show or other event of lessthan 11 days' duration that has been held in the municipality at least once ayear for at least 10 years. (2007‑475, ss. 1, 2.)