§ 34-37-1 - Finding and declaration of policy.
SECTION 34-37-1
§ 34-37-1 Finding and declaration ofpolicy. – (a) In the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, hereinafterreferred to as the state, many people are denied equal opportunity in obtaininghousing accommodations and are forced to live in circumscribed areas because ofdiscriminatory housing practices based upon race, color, religion, sex, sexualorientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, country ofancestral origin, disability, age, familial status, or on the basis that atenant or applicant, or a member of the household, is or has been, or isthreatened with being, the victim of domestic abuse, or that the tenant orapplicant has obtained, or sought, or is seeking, relief from any court in theform of a restraining order for protection from domestic abuse. These practicestend unjustly to condemn large groups of inhabitants to dwell in segregateddistricts or under depressed living conditions in crowded, unsanitary,substandard, and unhealthful accommodations. These conditions breed intergrouptension as well as vice, disease, juvenile delinquency, and crime; increase thefire hazard; endanger the public health; jeopardize the public safety, generalwelfare and good order of the entire state; and impose substantial burdens onthe public revenues for the abatement and relief of conditions so created.These discriminatory and segregative housing practices are inimical to andsubvert the basic principles upon which the colony of Rhode Island andProvidence Plantations was founded and upon which the state and the UnitedStates were later established. Discrimination and segregation in housing tendto result in segregation in our public schools and other public facilities,which is contrary to the policy of the state and the constitution of the UnitedStates. Further, discrimination and segregation in housing adversely affecturban renewal programs and the growth, progress, and prosperity of the state.In order to aid in the correction of these evils, it is necessary to safeguardthe right of all individuals to equal opportunity in obtaining housingaccommodations free of discrimination.
(b) It is hereby declared to be the policy of the state toassure to all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexualorientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, country ofancestral origin, or disability, age, familial status, or those tenants orapplicants, or members of a household, who are, or have been, or are threatenedwith being, the victims of domestic abuse, or those tenants or applicants whohave obtained, or sought, or are seeking, relief from any court in the form ofa restraining order for protection from domestic abuse, equal opportunity tolive in decent, safe, sanitary, and healthful accommodations anywhere withinthe state in order that the peace, health, safety, and general welfare of allthe inhabitants of the state may be protected and insured.
(c) The practice of discrimination in rental housing based onthe potential or actual tenancy of a person with a minor child, or on the basisthat a tenant or applicant, or a member of the household, is or has been or isthreatened with being, the victim of domestic abuse, or that the tenant orapplicant has obtained, or sought, or is seeking, relief from any court in theform of a restraining order for protection from domestic abuse is declared tobe against public policy.
(d) This chapter shall be deemed an exercise of the policepower of the state for the protection of the public welfare, prosperity,health, and peace of the people of the state.
(e) Nothing in this section shall prevent a landlord fromproceeding with eviction action against a tenant who fails to comply with§ 34-18-24(7).