DATED: 1990

Local Law NO. 4
Article I: Purposes and Enactment
Section 100 - Purposes and Enactment
For the purpose of providing and ensuring fair housing opportunities for
all within the County of Montgomery, the Board of Supervisors of the County of
Montgomery, State of New York, under the authority of the General Municipal
Law, hereby obtains, enacts, and publishes this local law.

Article II: Definitions
Section 200 - Definitions
210 General - For the purpose of this local law, certain words or phrases
herein shall be interpreted as follows, except where the context clearly
indicates the contrary: words used in the singular include the plural, words
used in the present tense include the future tense, the word "person" includes
a corporation as well as an individual and the word "shall" is always
mandatory.
202 Specific Words or Phrases - For the purpose of this local law,
certain terms or words herein shall be interpreted as follows:
II Dwelling" means any building, structure, or portion thereof which is
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.
"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, and fiduciaries .
-2-
"Family" includes a single individual.
"To rent includes to lease, to sublease, to let and otherwise to grant
for a consideration the right to occupy premises not owned by the occupant.
Discriminatory housing practice" means an act that is unlawful under
Articles III, IV, V.

Article III: Discrimination in the Sale or Rental of Housing
Section 300 - Discrimination in the Sale or Rental of Housing
Except as exempted by Article VI, it shall be unlawful within the County
of Montgomery:
(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, handicap, familial status 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, sex
handicap, familial status, 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, sex, handicap, familial status
or national origin, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation,
or discrimination.
(d) To represent to
handicap, familial status,
available for inspection,
available.
any person because of race, color, religion, sex,
or national origin that any dwelling is not
sale, or rental when such dwelling is in fact so
(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,
sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.

Article IV: Discrimination in the Financing of Housing
,
Section 400 - Discrimination in the Financing of Housing
It shall be unlawful within the County of Montgomery 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 therefor 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 the race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial
status 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 ~welling or dwellings in
relation to which such loan or other financial assistance is to be made or
I
given: Provided, That nothing contained in this section shall impair the
scope or effectiveness of the exception contained in Article VI.

I
Article V: Discrimination in the Provision of Brokerage Services
Section 500 - Discrimination in the Provision of Brokerage Services
-3-
It shall be unlawful within the County of Montgomery to deny any person
access to or membership or participation in any multiple-listing services,
real estate broker's 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, sex handicap, familial
status or national origin.

Article VI: Exceptions
Section 600 - Exemptions
601 - Sales/Rentals by Owners - Nothing in Article III (other than
Subsection (c) 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 such single-family
houses at anyone 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 recent resident of such
house prior to such sale, the exception granted by this subsection shall apply
only with respect to one such sale within any twenty-four month p~riod:
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 any right to all or a portion of the
proceeds from the sale or rental of more than three such single-family houses
at one time: Provided further, That the sale or rental of any such
single-family house shall be excepted from the application of this law only if
such house is sold or rented (A) 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 dwelling, or of any employee or agent of any
such broker, agent, salesman, or person, and (8) without the publication,
posting, or mailing, after notice, of any advertisement or written notice in
violation of Article III of this law; but nothing in this provision shall
prohibit the use of attorneys, escrow agents, abstractors, title companies,
and other such professional assistance as may be 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 families living independently of
each other, if the owner actually maintains and occupies one of such living
quarters as his residence.
For the purpose of this exemption, a person shall be deemed to be in the
business of selling or renting dwellings if--
(1) he has, within the preceding twelve months, participated as principal
in three or more transactions involving the sale or rental of any dwelling or
any interest therein, or
(2) he has, within the preceding 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
(3) he is the owner of any dwelling designed or intended for occupancy
by, or occupied by, five or more families.
602 Sales/Rentals by Religious Organizations - Nothing in this law 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
limiting 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, sex, handicap, familial status, or
national origin. Nor shall anything in this law 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 a
commercial purpose, from limiting the rental of occupancy of such lodgings to
its members or from giving preference to its members.

-4-
Article VII: Administration
Secti6n 700 - Administration
701 Authority and Responsibility - The authority and responsibility for
publicizing, administering, and enforcing this law shall be in the County's
Fair Housing Officer, to be designated by the Chairman of the Board of
Supervisors.
702 Violations - Violations of the local law shall be reported in person
or in writing to the County's Fair Housing Officer.
703 Enforcement - Where sufficient cause exists to believe that the terms
of this law have been violated, the Fair Housing Officer shall institute a
suit in County Court against the alleged violator.
704 Penalties - Where a person or organization has been found, after a
trial on the merits, in violation of this law, a fine shall be imposed on such
person or organization not to exceed $500 for a first offense, and $1,000 for
each additional offense. The minimum fine for violations of this law shall be
$100 for a first offense, and $500 for each additional offense. Each and
every separate violation of this law shall be deemed an offense for the
purposes of imposing the appropriate fine.

Article VIII: Miscellaneous Provisions
Section 800 - Miscellaneous Provisions
801 Amendment - The Board of Supervisors may, on its own initiative or on
petition, amend, supplement, or repeal the provisions of this local law in
conformity with applicable law after public notice and hearing.
802 Interpretation - In their interpretation and application, the
provisions of this law shall be held to be minimum requirements, adopted for
the promotion of the public health, morals, safety or the general welfare.
Whenever the requirements of the local law are at variance with the
requirements of any other lawfully adopted rules, regulations, or ordinances,
the most restrictive, or that imposing the highest standards, shall govern.
803 Short Title - This local law shall be known and may be cited as lithe
County of Montgomery Fair Housing Law."
804 Saving Clause - If any clause, sentence or paragraph of this local
law shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid,
such adjudication shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder of the
local law which shall as to such remainder remain in effect.
805 Effective Date - This local law shall take effect immediately upon
its filing with the Secretary of State of the State of New York .