Niles — Ch. 58 Human Relations § 58-37
Exceptions to prohibited acts
Operative Text
(a) The prohibitions contained in section 58-36 shall not be applicable to any owner of a single-family residence, including ownership of a specific single-family unit in a multiple-family structure, if such property has not been listed for sale, lease, exchange or transfer with any real estate broker or real estate salesperson. (b) Any provision of section 58-36 to the contrary notwithstanding, an owner of a single-family residence, including ownership of a specific family unit in a multiple-family structure, may lawfully refuse to enter into any sale, lease, exchange or transfer of such single family residence for any reason whatsoever and without being required to state the reason for such refusal; provided, however, that: (1) It shall be unlawful for any owner to enter into an explicit or tacit agreement with any real estate broker or real estate salesperson that such refusal shall be experienced on a predetermined basis with respect to race, color, sex, age, disability, religion, national origin or ancestry; (2) If an owner of a single-family residence has currently, or had within six months, listed such residence with any real estate broker or real estate salesperson, it shall be unlawful for the owner to refuse to allow any bona fide prospective purchaser or tenant produced by the real estate broker or real estate salesperson or co-operating broker or salesperson to examine the residence because of the race, color, sex, age, disability, religion, national origin or ancestry of the prospective purchaser; and (3) Subsection (b) of this section shall not be applicable to a developer of housing within the village. (c) The prohibitions contained in section 58-36 shall not be applicable to the rental of a unit in a two-unit housing accommodation if one unit is owner-occupied. (d) Nothing in this article shall require any person to offer housing or business accommodations for sale or lease to any person if such person is not negotiating for the purchase or lease thereof in good faith.
Niles Ch. 58 Human Relations § 58-37 carves out specific situations where the fair-housing prohibitions in § 58-36 do not apply. Owners of single-family residences who have not listed their property with a real estate broker or salesperson, and owner-occupants of one unit in a two-unit building, are generally exempt from those prohibitions. However, these exemptions have firm limits: no owner may coordinate with a broker to systematically exclude buyers or renters based on protected characteristics such as race, religion, disability, or national origin, and once a property is listed with a broker, owners cannot refuse to allow viewings on the basis of a prospective buyer's or tenant's protected characteristics. Developers of housing within the village are explicitly excluded from the single-family exemption.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Under § 58-37, property owners who qualify for an exemption—such as unlisted single-family homeowners or owner-occupants of a two-unit building—generally retain broader discretion over whether to sell or rent their property. Compliant operators are careful to avoid any arrangement, explicit or implied, with a real estate broker that would result in systematically turning away prospects based on race, color, sex, age, disability, religion, national origin, or ancestry. Once a property is listed with a broker or salesperson, or has been listed within the past six months, operators ensure that all bona fide prospective purchasers and tenants produced by that broker are permitted to view the property regardless of their protected characteristics.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Section § 58-37 defines the boundaries of exemptions that some property owners may claim under Niles's human-relations ordinance, which means the full anti-discrimination protections of § 58-36 still apply in many common rental and sale situations. If a property was listed with a real estate broker or salesperson—even within the past six months—a prospective buyer or tenant has the right not to be denied a viewing based on protected characteristics such as race, disability, or national origin. Tenants and prospective buyers who believe an owner has improperly invoked an exemption or has coordinated with a broker to discriminate may consider contacting a local tenant-rights organization or a fair-housing agency to explore available complaint processes.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated November 10, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
Effective Timeline
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Rules and statutes that cite this regulation