Section 8-3-202. Unlawful practices in selling or renting dwellings; exceptions

   (a) Except as exempted by subsection (b) or (d) of this Code section or Code Section 8-3-205, it shall be unlawful:

   (1) To refuse to sell or rent after the making of a bona fide offer, or to refuse to negotiate for the sale or rental of, or otherwise make unavailable or deny, a dwelling to any person because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin;

   (2) To discriminate against any person in the terms, conditions, or privileges of sale or rental of a dwelling, or in the provision of services or facilities in connection therewith, because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin;

   (3) To make, print, or publish or cause to be made, printed, or published any notice, statement, or advertisement, with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling, that indicates any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination;

   (4) To represent to any person because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin that any dwelling is not available for inspection, sale, or rental when such dwelling is in fact so available;

   (5) For profit, to induce or attempt to induce any person to sell or rent any dwelling by representations regarding the entry or prospective entry into the neighborhood of a person or persons of a particular race, color, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin or with a disability;

   (6) To discriminate in the sale or rental, or to otherwise make unavailable or deny, a dwelling to any buyer or renter because of a disability of:

      (A) That buyer or renter;

      (B) A person residing in or intending to reside in that dwelling after it is sold, rented, or made available; or

      (C) Any person associated with that buyer or renter; or

   (7) (A) To discriminate against any person in the terms, conditions, or privileges of sale or rental of a dwelling, or in the provision of services or facilities in connection with such dwelling, because of a disability of:

         (i) That person;

         (ii) A person residing in or intending to reside in that dwelling after it is sold, rented, or made available; or

         (iii) Any person associated with that person.

      (B) For purposes of this paragraph, discrimination includes:

         (i) A refusal to permit, at the expense of the person with disabilities, reasonable modifications of existing premises occupied or to be occupied by such person if such modifications may be necessary to afford such person full enjoyment of the premises, except that, in the case of a rental, the landlord may where it is reasonable to do so condition permission for a modification on the renter's agreeing to restore the interior of the premises to the condition that existed before the modification, reasonable wear and tear excepted;

         (ii) A refusal to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services when such accommodations may be necessary to afford such person equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling; or

         (iii) In connection with the design and construction of covered multifamily dwellings for first occupancy after March 13, 1991, a failure to design and construct those dwellings in such a manner that:

            (I) The public use and common use portions of such dwellings are readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities;

            (II) All the doors designed to allow passage into and within all premises within such dwellings are sufficiently wide to allow passage by persons with disabilities in wheelchairs; and

            (III) All premises within such dwellings contain the following features of adaptive design: (a) an accessible route into and through the dwelling; (b) light switches, electrical outlets, thermostats, and other environmental controls in accessible locations; (c) reinforcements in bathroom walls to allow later installation of grab bars; and (d) usable kitchens and bathrooms such that an individual in a wheelchair can maneuver about the space.

      (C) Compliance with the appropriate requirements of the American National Standard for buildings and facilities providing accessibility and usableness for physically disabled people (commonly cited as "ANSI A117.1") suffices to satisfy the requirements of subdivision (B)(iii)(III) of this paragraph.

      (D) In regard to persons with disabilities, discrimination includes, in connection with the design and construction of covered multifamily dwellings for first occupancy after March 13, 1991, a failure to design and construct dwellings in such a manner that the dwellings have at least one building entrance on an accessible route, unless it is impracticable to do so because of the terrain or unusual characteristics of the site.

(b) (1) Nothing in this Code section, other than paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of this Code section, shall apply to:

      (A) Any single-family dwelling sold or rented by an owner, if:

         (i) Such private individual owner does not own more than three such single-family dwellings at any one time;

         (ii) Such bona fide private individual owner does not own any interest in, nor is there owned or reserved on his behalf, under any express or voluntary agreement, title to or any right to all or a portion of the proceeds from the sale or rental of more than three such single-family dwellings at any one time;

         (iii) Such dwelling is sold or rented:

            (I) Without the use in any manner of the sales or rental facilities or the sales or rental services of any real estate broker, agent, or salesman, or of such facilities or services of any person in the business of selling or renting dwellings, or of any employee or agent of any such broker, agent, salesman, or person; and

            (II) Without the publication, posting, or mailing, after notice, of any advertisement or written notice in violation of subsection (c) of this Code section; but nothing in this paragraph shall prohibit the use of attorneys, escrow agents, abstractors, title companies, and other such professional assistance as necessary to perfect or transfer the title; or

      (B) Rooms or units in dwellings containing living quarters occupied or intended to be occupied by no more than four families living independently of each other, if the owner actually maintains and occupies one of such living quarters as his residence.

   (2) In the case of the sale of any such single-family dwelling by a private individual owner not residing in such dwelling at the time of such sale or who was not the most recent resident of such dwelling prior to such sale, the exemption granted by this subsection shall apply only with respect to one such sale within any 24 month period.

(c) For the purposes of subsection (b) of this Code section, a person shall be deemed to be in the business of selling or renting dwellings if:

   (1) He has, within the preceding 12 months, participated as principal in three or more transactions involving the sale or rental of any dwelling or any interest therein;

   (2) He has, within the preceding 12 months, participated as agent, other than in the sale of his own personal residence, in providing sales or rental facilities or sales or rental services in two or more transactions involving the sale or rental of any dwelling or any interest therein; or

   (3) He is the owner of any dwelling designed or intended for occupancy by, or occupied by, five or more families.

(d) Nothing contained in this Code section shall require that a dwelling be made available for rental or lease to an individual whose tenancy would constitute a direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals or whose tenancy would result in substantial physical damage to the property of others.

Code 1981, § 8-3-202, enacted by Ga. L. 1990, p. 1284, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 1840, § 4; Ga. L. 1995, p. 1302, §§ 13, 14, 16.