Cazenovia Village, N.Y., Code of Ordinances ch. 105 (eCode360 ed. 2026) § 105-6
Exceptions
Operative Text
Nothing in this article 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 dwellings that it owns or operates for other than a commercial purpose to persons of the same religion, or from giving preference to such persons, unless membership in such religion is restricted on account of race, color, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin. Nor shall anything in this article prohibit a private club not in fact open to the public, which as an incident to its primary purpose or purposes provides lodgings that it owns or operates for other than a commercial purpose, from limiting the rental or occupancy of such lodgings to its members or from giving preference to its members.
Section 105-6 of Cazenovia Village's Code of Ordinances, Chapter 105, carves out two narrow exceptions to the article's general fair-housing requirements. First, religious organizations and nonprofits affiliated with them may give preference to members of their own religion when renting or selling dwellings they own for non-commercial purposes, provided that membership in the religion is not itself restricted based on race, color, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin. Second, private clubs that are genuinely not open to the public may limit lodging they own for non-commercial purposes to their own members. These exceptions apply only in the specific non-commercial contexts described and do not create a broad license to discriminate.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Operators covered by § 105-6 of Cazenovia Village Code ch. 105 — such as a church-affiliated housing ministry or a bona fide private club — generally document the non-commercial nature of their housing, confirm that any religious membership criteria do not exclude people on the basis of race, color, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, and apply preference policies consistently and only to the specific dwellings or lodgings described in the exception. Operators who believe they may qualify for one of these exceptions typically review whether their organization and property genuinely meet each element of the provision before relying on it. Misapplying the exception to commercial rental activity or to properties not owned by the qualifying organization would fall outside the protection § 105-6 provides.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Under § 105-6 of Cazenovia Village Code ch. 105, the exceptions it creates are limited in scope: they apply only to non-commercial housing owned by qualifying religious organizations or private clubs, and the religious-preference exception cannot be used if the religion itself restricts membership on protected grounds such as race, color, or national origin. Tenants who believe a housing provider is improperly invoking one of these exceptions to justify discriminatory treatment may have grounds to raise that as a concern. General enforcement paths include filing a complaint with a local or state fair-housing agency, contacting a tenant-rights organization, or consulting an attorney familiar with New York fair-housing law.
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.
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