Ohio Revised Code
Chapter 4112 | Civil Rights Commission
Section 4112.024 | Housing Owned by Religious Organization; Preference for Occupants.

Effective: April 6, 2017
Latest Legislation: House Bill 463 - 131st General Assembly
(A) Nothing in division (H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code shall bar any religious or denominational institution or organization, or any nonprofit charitable or educational organization that is operated, supervised, or controlled by or in connection with a religious organization, from limiting the sale, rental, or occupancy of housing accommodations that it owns or operates for other than a commercial purpose to persons of the same religion, or from giving preference in the sale, rental, or occupancy of such housing accommodations to persons of the same religion, unless membership in the religion is restricted on account of race, color, or national origin.
(B) Nothing in division (H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code shall bar any bona fide private or fraternal organization that, incidental to its primary purpose, owns or operates lodgings for other than a commercial purpose, from limiting the rental or occupancy of the lodgings to its members or from giving preference to its members.
(C) Nothing in division (H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code limits the applicability of any reasonable local, state, or federal restrictions regarding the maximum number of occupants permitted to occupy housing accommodations. Nothing in that division prohibits the owners or managers of housing accommodations from implementing reasonable occupancy standards based on the number and size of sleeping areas or bedrooms and the overall size of a dwelling unit, provided that the standards are not implemented to circumvent the purposes of this chapter and are formulated, implemented, and interpreted in a manner consistent with this chapter and any applicable local, state, or f ederal restrictions regarding the maximum number of occupants permitted to occupy housing accommodations.
(D) Nothing in division (H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code requires that housing accommodations be made available to an individual whose tenancy would constitute a direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals or whose tenancy would result in substantial physical damage to the property of others.
(E) Nothing in division (H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code pertaining to discrimination on the basis of familial status shall be construed to apply to any of the following:
(1) Housing accommodations provided under any state or federal program that have been determined under the "Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988," 102 Stat. 1623, 42 U.S.C. 3607, as amended, to be specifically designed and operated to assist elderly persons;
(2) Housing accommodations intended for and solely occupied by persons who are sixty-two years of age or older;
(3) Housing accommodations intended and operated for occupancy by at least one person who is fifty-five years of age or older per unit, as determined under the "Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988," 102 Stat. 1623, 42 U.S.C. 3607, as amended.
(F) Nothing in divisions (H)(1) to (18) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code shall be construed to require any person selling or renting property to modify the property in any way or to exercise a higher degree of care for a person with a disability, to relieve any person with a disability of any o bligation generally imposed on all persons regardless of disability in a written lease, rental agreement, or contract of purchase or sale, or to forbid distinctions based on the inability to fulfill the terms and conditions, including financial obligations, of the lease, agreement, or contract.

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