Delaware Code Title 25 Sec. 5116 – Fair housing provisions
(a) No person, being an owner or agent of any real estate, house, apartment or other premises, shall refuse or decline to rent, subrent, sublease, assign or cancel any existing rental agreement to or of any tenant or any person by reason of race, creed, religion, marital status, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, source of income, or occupation or because the tenant or person has a child or children in the family.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 25 Sec. 5116
- Child: means a person who has not reached the age of 18 years. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
- State: means the State of Delaware; and when applied to different parts of the United States, it includes the District of Columbia and the several territories and possessions of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
(b) No person shall demand or receive a greater sum as rent for the use and occupancy of any premises because the person renting or desiring to rent the premises is of a particular race, creed, religion, marital status, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, source of income, or occupation or has a child or children in the family.
(c) In the event of discrimination under this section, the tenant may recover damages sustained as a result of the landlord’s action, including, but not limited to, reasonable expenditures necessary to obtain adequate substitute housing.
(d) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section relating to age discrimination, and consistent with federal and state fair housing acts, a landlord may make rental units available exclusively for rental by senior citizens. A senior citizen rental unit shall be available for rent solely to senior citizens, without regard to race, creed, religion, marital status, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, source of income, or occupation of the senior citizen and without regard to whether or not the senior citizen has a dependent child or children in the residence.
(e) A landlord not be required to participate in any government-sponsored rental assistance program, voucher, or certificate system. A landlord’s nonparticipation in any government-sponsored rental assistance program, voucher, or certificate system may not serve as the basis for any administrative or judicial proceeding under this chapter.
(f) The prohibitions in this section against discrimination based on source of income shall not limit the ability of a landlord participating in any government sponsored rental assistance program, voucher, or certificate system from reserving rental units for tenants who qualify for such governmental program.
(g) The prohibitions in this chapter against discrimination based on source of income shall not limit the ability of any landlord or prospective landlord to consider the sufficiency or sustainability of income of, or the credit rating of, a tenant or prospective tenant, so long as sufficiency or sustainability of income, and the credit requirements, are applied in a commercially reasonable manner and without regard to source of income.
70 Del. Laws, c. 513, § ?1; 77 Del. Laws, c. 90, § ?21; 79 Del. Laws, c. 47, § ?21; 80 Del. Laws, c. 355, § 8;