(a)  Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit a religious organization, association, or society or any nonprofit institution or organization operated, supervised, or controlled by or in conjunction with a religious organization, association, or society from limiting the sale, rental, or occupancy of a dwelling which it owns or operates for other than commercial purposes to persons of the same religion or from giving preference to those persons unless membership in the religion is restricted on account of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race, color, or national origin or disability. Nor shall anything in this chapter prohibit a private club not in fact open to the public which as an incident to its primary purpose or purposes provides lodgings which it owns or operates 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.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 34-37-4.2

  • Disability: means a disability as defined in § 42-87-1. 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
  • 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)  Nothing in this chapter limits the applicability of any reasonable local, state, or federal restrictions regarding the maximum number of occupants permitted to occupy a dwelling.

History of Section.
P.L. 1979, ch. 144, § 3; P.L. 1988, ch. 455, § 1; P.L. 1990, ch. 398, § 1; P.L. 1995, ch. 32, § 2; P.L. 1997, ch. 150, § 8; P.L. 2001, ch. 340, § 2.