§ 10-20. Exemptions and exclusions

(a) There shall be exempted from the application of section 10-17 hereof all transactions involving:

(1) The rental of units in dwellings containing living quarters occupied or intended to be occupied by no more than four (4) families living independently of each other if the owner actually maintains and occupies one (1) of such units as his residence.

(2) The rental of a single room in a dwelling containing living quarters occupied or intended to be occupied by no more than one (1) 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 (4) such rooms are offered.

(3) The sale or rental of any single house by a private individual who owns such house, provided that:

a. The sale or rental is made 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

b. The sale is made without the publication, posting or mailing of any advertisement or written notice in violation of section 10-17(3) of this article (this shall not prohibit the use of attorneys, escrow agents, abstractors, title companies and other such professional assistance as necessary to perfect or transfer the title; and

c. The owner does not own more than three (3) single-family houses at the time of the sale; and

d. The owner does not own any interest in, nor is there owned or reserved on his behalf, under any express or voluntary agreement, title to or any right to all or any portion of the proceeds from the sale or rental of more than three (3) such single-family houses at any one (1) time.

If the owner does not reside in the house at the time of sale or was not the most recent resident of such house prior to the sale, the exemption granted by this paragraph (a) shall apply only with respect to one (1) such sale within any twenty-four-month period.

(b) Nothing in this article 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 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 person, unless membership in such religion is restricted on account of race, color, sex or national origin.

(c) Nothing in this article shall prohibit a bona fide private club, not in fact open to the public, which as an incident to its primary purpose, provides lodging which it owns or operates for other than a commercial purpose from limiting the rental or occupancy of such lodging to its members or from giving preference to its members.

(d) Nothing in this article shall bar any person from owning and operating a housing accommodation in which a room or rooms are leased, subleased or rented only to persons of the same sex, when such housing accommodation contains common lavatory, kitchen or similar facilities available for the use of all persons occupying such housing accommodation.

(Code 1970, § 10¾-20; Ord. No. 2490, § 5, 2-11-80)