(a)  It shall be unlawful for any person or other entity whose business includes engaging in residential real estate-related transactions to discriminate against any person in making available a transaction, or in the terms and conditions of the transaction, because of race, color, religion, marital status, military status as a veteran with an honorable discharge or an honorable or general administrative discharge, servicemember in the armed forces, country of ancestral origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, or familial status.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 34-37-5.4

  • Age: means anyone over the age of eighteen (18). See Rhode Island General Laws 34-37-3
  • Armed forces: means the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Merchant Marines, or Air Force of the United States and the Rhode Island National Guard. See Rhode Island General Laws 34-37-3
  • Disability: means a disability as defined in § 42-87-1. See Rhode Island General Laws 34-37-3
  • Discriminate: includes segregate, separate, or otherwise differentiate between or among individuals because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, lawful source of income, military status as a veteran with an honorable discharge or an honorable or general administrative discharge, servicemember in the armed forces, country of ancestral origin, disability, age, housing status, or familial status or because of the race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, lawful source of income, military status as a veteran with an honorable discharge or an honorable or general administrative discharge, servicemember in the armed forces, country of ancestral origin, disability, age, housing status, or familial status of any person with whom they are, or may wish to be, associated. See Rhode Island General Laws 34-37-3
  • Familial status: means one or more individuals who have not attained the age of eighteen (18) years being domiciled with:

    (A)  A parent or another person having legal custody of the individual or individuals; or

    (B)  The designee of the parent or other person having the custody, with the written permission of the parent or other person, provided that, if the individual is not a relative or legal dependent of the designee, that the individual shall have been domiciled with the designee for at least six (6) months. See Rhode Island General Laws 34-37-3

  • gender identity or expression: includes a person's actual or perceived gender, as well as a person's gender identity, gender-related self image, gender-related appearance, or gender-related expression; whether or not that gender identity, gender-related self image, gender-related appearance, or gender-related expression is different from that traditionally associated with the person's sex at birth. See Rhode Island General Laws 34-37-3
  • Person: includes one or more individuals, partnerships, associations, organizations, corporations, labor organizations, mutual companies, joint stock companies, trusts, receivers, legal representatives, trustees, other fiduciaries, or real estate brokers or real estate salespersons as defined in chapter 20. See Rhode Island General Laws 34-37-3
  • real estate: may be construed to include lands, tenements, and hereditaments and rights thereto and interests therein. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-10
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • sexual orientation: means having, or being perceived as having, an orientation for heterosexuality, bisexuality, or homosexuality. See Rhode Island General Laws 34-37-3

(b)  As used in this section, the term “residential real estate-related transaction” means any of the following:

(1)  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.

(2)  The selling, brokering, or appraising of residential real property.

(c)  Nothing in this chapter prohibits a person engaged in the business of furnishing appraisals of real property to take into consideration factors other than race, color, religion, marital status, military status as a veteran with an honorable discharge or an honorable or general administrative discharge, servicemember in the armed forces, country of ancestral origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, or familial status.

History of Section.
P.L. 1990, ch. 398, § 2; P.L. 1995, ch. 32, § 2; P.L. 1997, ch. 150, § 8; P.L. 2001, ch. 340, § 2; P.L. 2015, ch. 161, § 1; P.L. 2015, ch. 180, § 1.