South Carolina Code of Regulations › Chapter 65 - SOUTH CAROLINA HUMAN AFFAIRS COMMISSION › Subchapter 2 - FAIR HOUSING › Article 1 - DISCRIMINATORY CONDUCT › Section 65-215 - Prohibition Against Discrimination Because of Handicap

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 6, June 28, 2024
A. Purpose.
The purpose of this Rule is to effectuate the South Carolina
				  Fair Housing Law.
B.
				Definitions.
As used in this Rule:
(1) "Accessible" when used with respect to
				the public and common use areas of a building containing covered multifamily
				dwellings, means 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 paragraph.
(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) "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 American National Standards Institute, Inc., 1430 Broadway, New
				York, New York 10018. Copies may be inspected at the South Carolina Human
				Affairs Commission, Columbia, South Carolina.
(4) "Building" means a structure, facility or
				portion thereof that contains or serves one or more dwelling units.
(5) "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 paragraph.
(6) "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.
(7) "Controlled substance" means any drug or
				other substance, or immediate precursor included in the definitions in Chapter
				53, Article 3, South Carolina Code of Laws of 1976, as amended.
(8) "Covered multifamily dwellings" means
				buildings consisting of four or more dwelling units if such buildings have one
				or more elevators; and ground floor dwelling units in other buildings
				consisting of four or more dwelling units.
(9) "Dwelling unit" means a single unit of
				residence for a family of 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.
(10) "Entrance" means any access point to a
				building or portion of a building used by residents for the purpose of
				entering.
(11) "Exterior" means all
				areas of the premises outside of an individual dwelling unit.
(12) "First occupancy" means a building that
				has never before been used for any purpose.
(13) "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.
(14)
				"Handicap" means with respect to a person, a physical or mental impairment
				which substantially limits one or more major life activities; a record of such
				an impairment; or being regarded as having such an impairment. This term does
				not include current, illegal use of or addiction to a controlled substance. As
				used in this definition:
(a) "Physical or
				mental impairment" includes:
(i) 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
(ii) Any
				mental or psychological disorder, such as intellectual disability, organic
				brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific learning
				disabilities.
(iii) 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, intellectual
				disability, emotional illness, drug addiction (other than addiction caused by
				current, illegal use of a controlled substance) and alcoholism.
(b) "Major life activities" means
				functions such as caring for one's self, performing manual tasks, walking,
				seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning and working.
(c) "Has a record of such an impairment"
				means has a history of, or has been misclassified as having, a mental or
				physical impairment that substantially limits one or more major life
				activities.
(d) "Is regarded as
				having an impairment" means:
(i) Has a
				physical or mental impairment that does not substantially limit one or more
				major life activities but that is treated by another person as constituting
				such a limitation;
(ii) Has 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
(iii) Has none of the
				impairments defined in paragraph (a) of this definition but is treated by
				another person as having such an impairment.
(15) "Interior" means the spaces, parts,
				components or elements of an individual dwelling unit.
(16) "Modification" means any change to the
				public or common use areas of a building or any change to a dwelling
				unit.
(17) "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.
(18) "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.
(19) "Site" means a parcel of land bounded by
				a property line or a designated portion of a public right of way.