by Peg Ritenour
VP Legal Services & Administration

Included in the recent license law changes that became effective Sept. 29, was a technical amendment to the mandatory fair housing statement that must be included in all agency agreements and the Consumer Guide to Agency Relationships.  This change merely adds the words “as amended” after the citation to the federal fair housing code section 42 U.S.C.A. 3601.

Because this change is technical rather than substantive, the Ohio Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing is not requiring licensees to change their forms immediately.  Instead, licensees may deplete their current supply of forms, but need to change the fair housing language on any new forms that are printed.

The following is the corrected language:

It is illegal, pursuant to the Ohio Fair Housing Law, Division (H) of Section 4112.02 of the Revised Code and the Federal Fair Housing law, 42 U.S.C.A. 3601, as amended, to refuse to sell, transfer, assign, rent, lease, sublease or finance housing accommodations, refuse to negotiate for the sale or rental of housing accommodations, or otherwise deny or make unavailable housing accommodations because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status as defined in section 4112.01 of the Revised Code, ancestry, military status as defined in that section, disability as defined in that section, or national origin or to so discriminate in advertising the sale or rental of housing, in the financing of housing, or in the provision of real estate brokerage services. 
 
It is also illegal, for profit, to induce or attempt to induce a person to sell or rent a dwelling by representations regarding the entry into the neighborhood of a person or persons belonging to one of the protected classes.