Florida Administrative Code › 60 - DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT SERVICES › 60Y - Commission on Human Relations › Chapter 60Y-6 - FAIR HOUSING ACT › Section 60Y-6.001 - Definitions

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
As used in the rules of the Commission:
(1) "Accessible, " when used with respect to
				the public and common use areas of a building containing covered multifamily
				dwellings, means that the public or common use areas of the building can be
				approached, entered and used by individuals with physical handicaps. The phrase
				"readily accessible to and usable by" is synonymous with accessible. A public
				or common use area that complies with the appropriate requirements of ANSI
				A117.1-1986 or a comparable standard is "accessible" within the meaning of this
				subsection.
(2) "Accessible route"
				means a continuous unobstructed path connecting accessible elements and spaces
				in a building or within a site that can be negotiated by a person with a severe
				disability using a wheelchair and that is also safe for and usable by people
				with other disabilities. Interior accessible routes may include corridors,
				floors, ramps, elevators and lifts. Exterior accessible routes may include
				parking access aisles, curb ramps, walks, ramps and lifts. A route that
				complies with the appropriate requirements of ANSI A117.1-1986 or a comparable
				standard is an "accessible route."
(3) "Act" means the Fair Housing Act, as
				amended, Section  760.20 -
				 760.37, F.S.
(4) "Aggrieved person" includes any person
				who claims to have been injured by a discriminatory housing practice or who
				believes that such person will be injured by a discriminatory housing
				practice.
(5) "ANSI A117.1-1986"
				means the 1986 edition of the American National Standard for buildings and
				facilities providing accessibility and usability for physically handicapped
				people. Copies may be obtained from the American National Standards Institute,
				Inc., 1430 Broadway, New York, New York 10018.
(6) "Attorney General" means the Attorney
				General of the State of Florida.
(7) "Broker or agent" includes any person
				authorized to perform an action on behalf of another person regarding any
				matter related to the sale or rental of dwellings, including offers,
				solicitations or contracts and the administration of matters regarding such
				offers, solicitations or contracts or any residential real estate-related
				transactions.
(8) "Building" means
				a structure, facility or portion thereof that contains or serves one or more
				dwelling units.
(9) "Building
				entrance on an accessible route" means an accessible entrance to a building
				that is connected by an accessible route to public transportation stops, to
				accessible parking and passenger loading zones, or to public streets or
				sidewalks, if available. A building entrance that complies with ANSI
				A117.1-1986 or a comparable standard complies with the requirements of this
				subsection.
(10) "Chairperson" or
				"Chair" means the Chairperson of the Commission or Chairperson of a Panel, as
				the context may indicate.
(11)
				"Charge" means the statement of facts upon which the Commission has found
				reasonable cause to believe that a discriminatory housing practice has occurred
				or is about to occur.
(12) "Clerk"
				means the person designated by the Executive Director as heading the Office of
				the Clerk.
(13) "Commission" means
				the Florida Commission on Human Relations.
(14) "Commissioner" means a member of the
				Commission.
(15) "Common use areas"
				means rooms, spaces or elements inside or outside of a building that are made
				available for the use of residents of a building or the guests thereof. These
				areas include hallways, lounges, lobbies, laundry rooms, refuse rooms, mail
				rooms, recreational areas and passageways among and between
				buildings.
(16) "Complainant" means
				a person who filed a complaint.
(17) "Complaint" means a written, verified
				statement which alleges the occurrence of an unlawful housing practice and also
				includes an amended complaint.
(18)
				"Conciliation" means the attempted resolution of issues raised by a complaint
				or by the investigation of a complaint, through informal negotiations involving
				the aggrieved person, the respondent and the Commission.
(19) "Conciliation agreement" means a written
				agreement setting forth the resolution of the issues in conciliation.
(20) "Controlled substance" means any drug or
				other substance, or their immediate precursor, defined in Chapter 893,
				F.S.
(21) "Covered multifamily
				dwellings" means a building which consists of four or more dwelling units and
				has an elevator, or the ground floor units of a building which consists of four
				or more dwelling units and does not have an elevator.
(22) "Discriminatory housing practice" means
				an act which is unlawful under the terms of the Fair Housing Act, Sections
				760.20-.37, F.S.
(23) "Division of
				Administrative Hearings" means the Division of Administrative Hearings of the
				Department of Administration.
(24)
				"Document" includes, but is not limited to, writings, drawings, graphs, charts,
				photographs, phono-records and other data compilations from which information
				can be obtained.
(25) "Dwelling"
				means any building or 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 on the land of any such building or structure, or portion
				thereof.
(26) "Dwelling unit" means
				a single unit of residence for a family or one or more persons. Examples of
				dwelling units include: a single family home; an apartment unit within an
				apartment building; and in other types of dwellings in which sleeping
				accommodations are provided but toileting or cooking facilities are shared by
				occupants of more than one room or portion of the dwelling, rooms in which
				people sleep. Examples of the latter include dormitory rooms and sleeping
				accommodations in shelters intended for occupancy as a residence for homeless
				persons.
(27) "Entrance" means any
				access point to a building or portion of a building used by residents for the
				purpose of entering.
(28)
				"Executive Director" means the Executive Director of the Commission.
(29) "Exterior" means all areas of the
				premises outside of an individual dwelling unit.
(30) "Fair Housing Act" means the act which
				is set forth in Chapter 760, F.S., Sections 760.20-.37, F.S.
(31) "Familial Status" is established when an
				individual who has not attained the age of 18 years is domiciled with a parent
				or other person having legal custody of such individual, or a designee of a
				parent or other person having legal custody, with written permission of such
				parent or other person.
(32)
				"Family" includes a single individual.
(33) "First occupancy" means a building that
				has never before been used for any purpose.
(34) "General Counsel" means the General
				Counsel of the Commission.
(35)
				"Ground floor" means a floor of a building with a building entrance on an
				accessible route. A building may have more than one ground floor.
(36) "Handicap" means a person who has a
				physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life
				activities, or has a record of having or is regarded as having such physical or
				mental impairment, or a person who has a developmental disability as defined in
				Section  393.063(6),
				F.S.
(37) "Has a record of having
				such impairment" means has a history of, or has been misclassified as having a
				mental or physical impairment.
(38)
				"Hearing" means an administrative hearing conducted pursuant to Chapter 120,
				F.S.
(39) "Hearing Officer" means
				the person assigned to conduct a hearing upon a petition filed with the
				Commission.
(40) "Is regarded as
				having an impairment" means having a physical or mental impairment that does
				not substantially limit one or more major life activities but is treated as if
				it does; having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one
				or more major life activities only as a result of the attitudes of others
				toward such impairment; or having no physical or mental impairments but being
				treated as having such an impairment.
(41) "Interior" means the spaces, parts,
				components or elements of an individual dwelling unit.
(42) "Major life activities" includes
				functions such as caring for one's self, performing manual tasks, walking,
				seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning and working.
(43) "Modification" means any change to the
				public or common use areas of a building or any change to a dwelling
				unit.
(44) "Panel" means a panel of
				three or more Commissioners convened for the purpose of holding hearings on
				petitions for relief from discriminatory housing practices.
(45) "Party" means any person designated as a
				party to a proceeding before the Commission, pursuant to rule of the
				Commission.
(46) "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.
(47)
				"Person in the business of selling or renting dwellings" means any person who
				within the preceding twelve months has participated as principal in three or
				more transactions involving the sale or rental of any dwelling or any interest
				therein; or within the preceding twelve months has participated as agent, other
				than in the sale of his personal residence, in providing sales of rental
				facilities or services in two or more transactions involving the sale or rental
				of any dwelling or any interest therein; or is the owner of any dwelling
				designed or intended for occupancy by, or occupied by, five or more
				families.
(48) "Petition" means a
				writing, other than a written motion, filed with the Commission pursuant to
				rule of the Commission requesting that specified action be taken by the
				Commission.
(49) "Petitioner" means
				a person who files a petition with the Commission.
(50) "Physical or mental impairment" includes
				any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical
				loss affecting one or more of the following body systems: neurological;
				musculoskeletal; special sense organs; respiratory, including speech organs;
				cardiovascular; reproductive; digestive; genito-urinary; hemic and lymphatic;
				skin; and endocrine; or any mental or psychological disorder, such as mental
				retardation, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific
				learning disabilities. The term "physical or mental impairment" includes, but
				is not limited to, such diseases and conditions as orthopedic, visual, speech
				and hearing impairments, cerebral palsy, autism, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy,
				multiple sclerosis, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Human Immunodeficiency
				Virus infection, mental retardation, emotional illness, drug addiction (other
				than addiction caused by current illegal use of a controlled substance) and
				alcoholism.
(51) "Premises" means
				the interior or exterior spaces, parts, components or elements of a building,
				including individual dwelling units and the public and common use areas of a
				building.
(52) "Public use areas"
				means interior or exterior rooms or spaces of a building that are made
				available to the general public. Public use may be provided at a building that
				is privately or publicly owned.
(53) "Residential real estate transactions"
				means any of the following: the making or purchasing of loans or providing
				other financial assistance for purchasing, constructing, improving, repairing,
				or maintaining a dwelling; or the making or purchasing of loans or providing
				other financial assistance secured by residential real estate; or the selling,
				brokering or appraising of residential real estate property.
(54) "Respondent" means the person designated
				in the complaint as responsible for the alleged discriminatory housing practice
				or in the case of a petition, the person against whom relief is
				sought.
(55) "Site" means a parcel
				of land bounded by a property line or a designated portion of a public right of
				way.
(56) "Substantially
				equivalent" means an administrative subdivision of the State of Florida meeting
				the requirements of 24 C. F. R. Part 115, Section
				 115.6, F.S.
(57) "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.
Rulemaking Authority
					 760.31(5) FS.
					 Law Implemented 760.22 -
					 760.37
					 FS.
New 1-25-90, Formerly
					 22T-20.001.