House Bill 0897c1

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000              CS/HB 897

        By the Committee on Community Affairs and Representative
    Greenstein





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the Fair Housing Act;

  3         amending s. 760.29, F.S.; providing that, to

  4         qualify for the exemption from said act with

  5         respect to familial status for housing for

  6         older persons, a facility or community shall

  7         register with the Florida Commission on Human

  8         Relations and affirm compliance with specified

  9         requirements under penalty of perjury;

10         providing for a registration fee; amending s.

11         760.31, F.S.; providing for rules; providing an

12         effective date.

13

14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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16         Section 1.  Paragraph (e) is added to subsection (4) of

17  section 760.29, Florida Statutes, to read:

18         760.29  Exemptions.--

19         (4)(a)  Any provision of ss. 760.20-760.37 regarding

20  familial status does not apply with respect to housing for

21  older persons.

22         (b)  As used in this subsection, the term "housing for

23  older persons" means housing:

24         1.  Provided under any state or federal program that

25  the commission determines is specifically designed and

26  operated to assist elderly persons, as defined in the state or

27  federal program;

28         2.  Intended for, and solely occupied by, persons 62

29  years of age or older; or

30         3.  Intended and operated for occupancy by persons 55

31  years of age or older that meets the following requirements:

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  1         a.  At least 80 percent of the occupied units are

  2  occupied by at least one person 55 years of age or older.

  3         b.  The housing facility or community publishes and

  4  adheres to policies and procedures that demonstrate the intent

  5  required under this subparagraph. If the housing facility or

  6  community meets the requirements of sub-subparagraphs a. and

  7  c. and the recorded governing documents provide for an adult,

  8  senior, or retirement housing facility or community and the

  9  governing documents lack an amendatory procedure, prohibit

10  amendments, or restrict amendments until a specified future

11  date, then that housing facility or community shall be deemed

12  housing for older persons intended and operated for occupancy

13  by persons 55 years of age or older. If those documents

14  further provide a prohibition against residents 16 years of

15  age or younger, that provision shall be construed, for

16  purposes of the Fair Housing Act, to only apply to residents

17  18 years of age or younger, in order to conform with federal

18  law requirements. Governing documents which can be amended at

19  a future date must be amended and properly recorded within 1

20  year after that date to reflect the requirements for

21  consideration as housing for older persons, if that housing

22  facility or community intends to continue as housing for older

23  persons.

24         c.  The housing facility or community complies with

25  rules made by the Secretary of the United States Department of

26  Housing and Urban Development pursuant to 24 C.F.R. part 100

27  for verification of occupancy, which rules provide for

28  verification by reliable surveys and affidavits and include

29  examples of the types of policies and procedures relevant to a

30  determination of compliance with the requirements of

31  sub-subparagraph b.  Such surveys and affidavits are

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  1  admissible in administrative and judicial proceedings for the

  2  purposes of such verification.

  3         (c)  Housing shall not fail to be considered housing

  4  for older persons if:

  5         1.  A person who resides in such housing on or after

  6  October 1, 1989, does not meet the age requirements of this

  7  subsection, provided that any new occupant meets such age

  8  requirements; or

  9         2.  One or more units are unoccupied, provided that any

10  unoccupied units are reserved for occupancy by persons who

11  meet the age requirements of this subsection.

12         (d)  A person shall not be personally liable for

13  monetary damages for a violation of this subsection if such

14  person reasonably relied in good faith on the application of

15  the exemption under this subsection relating to housing for

16  older persons. For purposes of this paragraph, a person may

17  show good faith reliance on the application of the exemption

18  only by showing that:

19         1.  The person has no actual knowledge that the

20  facility or the community is ineligible, or will become

21  ineligible, for such exemption; and

22         2.  The facility or community has stated formally, in

23  writing, that the facility or community complies with the

24  requirements for such exemption.

25         (e)  To qualify for the exemption provided by this

26  subsection, a facility or community shall register with the

27  commission and submit to the commission a sworn affidavit, or

28  other document approved by the commission, stating, under

29  penalty of perjury, that the facility or community complies

30  with the requirements of paragraph (b)1., 2., or 3. The

31  affidavit shall be submitted on the letterhead of the facility

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  1  or community or in some other form approved by the commission

  2  and shall be signed by the president of the facility or

  3  community, under penalty of perjury.  This registration and

  4  documentation shall be renewed biennially from the date of

  5  original filing. The information in the registry shall be made

  6  available to the public, and the commission shall include this

  7  information on an Internet website. The commission may

  8  establish a reasonable registration fee that shall be

  9  deposited into the commission's trust fund to defray the

10  administrative costs associated with maintaining the registry.

11  The registration and submission of a sworn affidavit, or other

12  document approved by the commission, shall not substitute for

13  proof of compliance with the requirements of this subsection.

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15  A county or municipal ordinance regarding housing for older

16  persons may not contravene the provisions of this subsection.

17         Section 2.  Subsection (5) of section 760.31, Florida

18  Statutes, is amended to read:

19         760.31  Powers and duties of commission.--The

20  commission shall:

21         (5)  Adopt rules necessary to implement ss.

22  760.20-760.37 and govern the proceedings of the commission in

23  accordance with chapter 120.  Commission rules shall clarify

24  terms used with regard to handicapped accessibility,

25  exceptions from accessibility requirements based on terrain or

26  site characteristics, and requirements related to housing for

27  older persons. Commission rules shall specify the forms and

28  procedures to be used for the registration required by s.

29  760.29(4)(e).

30         Section 3.  This act shall take effect October 1, 2000,

31  provided that a facility or community that otherwise qualifies

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  1  for the exemption provided in s. 760.29(4), Florida Statutes,

  2  shall have until February 1, 2001, to comply with the

  3  requirements of this act.

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