Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia › Department 186 - COMMISSION ON EQUAL OPPORTUNITY › Chapter 186-2 - GEORGIA FAIR HOUSING LAW › Rule 186-2-.02 - Discriminatory Conduct Under the Georgia Fair Housing Law, as Amended

Current through Rules and Regulations filed through June 27, 2024
(1) GENERAL.
(a) Authority. This regulation is issued under the authority of the Administrator of the Commission on Equal Opportunity to administer and enforce the Georgia Fair Housing Law, as amended.
(b) Scope. It is the policy of the State of Georgia to provide, within constitutional limitations, for fair housing throughout the State. No person shall be subjected to discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin in the sale, rental, or advertising of dwellings, in the provision of brokerage services, or in the availability of residential real estate-related transactions.
1. This part provides the Commission's interpretation of the coverage of the Georgia Fair Housing Law, as amended, regarding discrimination related to the sale or rental of dwellings, the provision of services in connection therewith, and the availability of residential real estate-related transactions.
(c) Exemptions these rules do not:
1. 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 because of race, color, or national origin;
(i) Prohibit a private club that is, or whose membership is, not in fact open to the public, which, incident to its primary purpose or purposes, provides lodgings which it owns or operates for other than a commercial purpose, from limiting the rental or occupancy of such lodgings to its members or from giving preference to its members;
(ii) Limit the applicability of any reasonable local, state or federal restrictions regarding the maximum number of occupants permitted to occupy a dwelling; or
(iii) Prohibit conduct against a person because such person has been convicted by any court of competent jurisdiction of the illegal manufacture or distribution of a controlled substance, as defined in O.C.G.A. Section 16-13-21.
2. Nothing in this part regarding discrimination based on familial status applies with respect to housing for older persons, as defined in Rule  186-2-.02(5)
et seq
.
3. Nothing in this part, other than the prohibitions against discriminatory advertising applies to:
(i) The sale or rental of any single family dwelling by an owner, provided the following conditions are met:
(I) the owner does not own or have any interest in more than three single family dwellings at any one time.
(II) the dwelling is sold or rented without the use of a real estate broker, agent, salesperson, or employee or the facilities of any person in the business of selling or renting dwellings. If the owner selling the dwelling does not reside in it at the time of the sale or was not the most recent resident of the house prior to such sale, the exemption in this paragraph and in subsection (1) hereof applies only to one such sale in any 24-month period.
4. 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 or her residence.
(d) Definitions.
1. The "Act" or the "Georgia Fair Housing Law" means Article 4 of Chapter 3 of Title 8, cited herein as O.C.G.A. Section 8-3-200
et seq.
2. The "Administrator" means the Administrator of the Commission on Equal Opportunity.
3. The "Board" means the entire Board of Commissioners or a three-member panel designated from the Board of Commissioners. The Board has all the power and authority granted to agencies in conducting hearings and rendering final orders under Chapter 13 of Title 50, the "Georgia Administrative Procedure Act," including, but not limited to, subpoena power. If presiding as a three-member panel, the Board shall include at least one attorney who is licensed to practice law in the State of Georgia.
4. "Broker" or "agent" includes any person authorized to perform an act on behalf of another person regarding any matter related to providing access to any residential real estate-related transaction including offers, solicitations or contracts and the administration of matters pertaining to such offers, solicitations or contracts or any residential real estate-related transactions.
5. The "Commission" means the Commission on Equal Opportunity.
6. The "Complaint" is the document (and all subsequent amendments thereto) which contains a statement of the facts which form the basis for the Complainant's allegations that the Respondent(s) may have violated the Act. Each complaint must be in writing and must be signed and affirmed by the complainant or the aggrieved person filing the complaint or, if the complaint is filed by the Commission, by the Administrator.
7. "Familial status" means one or more individuals (who have not attained the age of 18 years) being domiciled with:
(i) a parent or another person having legal custody of such individual or individuals; or
(ii) the designee of such parent or other person having such custody, with the written permission of such parent or other person.
The protection afforded against discrimination on the basis of familial status shall apply to any person who is pregnant or is in the process of securing legal custody of any individual who has not attained the age of 18 years.
8. "Family" includes a single individual.
9. "Hearing" means that part of the administrative proceeding that involves the submission of evidence before the Board of Commissioners, either by oral presentation or written submission, and includes the submission of briefs and oral arguments on the evidence and applicable law.
10. "Party" means a person or agency named or admitted as a party to a proceeding or who intervenes in the proceeding.
11. "Prohibited basis" means discrimination perpetrated against another because of his or her race, color, religion, sex, handicap or disability, familial status, or national origin.
12. "Residential real estate-related transaction" means:
(i) the making or purchasing of loans or providing other financial assistance;
(I) for purchasing, constructing, improving, repairing or maintaining a dwelling; or
(II) secured by residential real estate; or
(ii) the selling, brokering, or appraising of residential real property.