Champaign — Ch. 17 Human Rights § 17-71

Discrimination in general

In Force
Verified 11/10/2026 · Next check 2/8/2027
ChampaignFair Housing & Anti-Discrimination

Operative Text

Champaign — Ch. 17 Human Rights § 17-71
It shall be unlawful to do any of the following acts based on unlawful discrimination: (1)
To refuse to engage in a real estate transaction or otherwise make unavailable or deny a dwelling to a person including the making of loans or the provision of other financial assistance for purchasing, constructing, improving, repairing, or maintaining a dwelling; or the making of loans or the provision of other financial assistance secured by residential real estate;
(2) To alter the terms, conditions or privileges of a real estate transaction or in the furnishing of facilities or services in connection therewith;
(3) To refuse to receive or to fail to transmit a bona fide offer to engage in a real estate transaction from a person;
(4) To refuse to negotiate for a real estate transaction with a person;
(5) To represent to a person that real property is not available for inspection, sale, rental, or lease when in fact it is so available, or to fail to bring a property listing to his or her attention, or to refuse to permit him or her to inspect real property;
(6) To print, circulate, post, mail, publish or cause to be so published a written or oral statement, advertisement or sign, or to use a form of application for a real estate transaction, or to make a record or inquiry in connection with a prospective real estate transaction, which expresses any limitation or preference founded upon, or indicated, directly or indirectly with an intent to engage in unlawful discrimination or discrimination based on familial status;
(7) To offer, solicit, accept, use or retain a listing of real property with knowledge that unlawful discrimination or discrimination on the basis of familial status in a real estate transaction is intended;
(8) To deny a person access to, membership, or participation in the multiple listing service, real estate brokers organization or other service;
(9) To refuse to sell or rent or to otherwise make unavailable or deny a dwelling to any buyer or renter because of a disability of that buyer or renter, or a disability of a person residing or intending to reside in that dwelling after it is sold, rented or made available or a disability of any person associated with the buyer or renter;
(10) To alter the terms, conditions, or privileges if sale or rental of a dwelling or the provision of services or facilities in connection with such dwelling because of a person's disability or a disability of any person residing or intending to reside in that dwelling after it is sold, rented or made available, or a disability of any person associated with that person;
(11) To alter the terms, conditions, or privileges if sale or rental of a dwelling or the provision of services or facilities in connection with such dwelling because of a person's disability or a disability of any person residing or intending to reside in that dwelling after it is sold, rented or made available, or a disability of any person associated with that person;
(12) To refuse to permit, at the expense of a person with a disability, 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 agreeing to restore the interior of the premises to the condition that existed before modifications to the extent necessary for future reasonable use of persons without disabilities, reasonable wear and tear accepted. The landlord may not increase for disabled persons any customarily required security deposit. Where it is necessary in order to ensure with reasonable certainty that funds will be available to pay for the restorations at the end of the tenancy, the landlord may negotiate as a part of such a restoration agreement a provision requiring that the tenant pay reasonable amount of money not to exceed that cost of the restoration. The landlord shall only collect restoration money for actual costs incurred in the restoration. The landlord shall only collect restoration money for actual costs incurred in the restoration. The landlord may condition permission for a modification on the renter providing a reasonable description of the proposed modification as well as reasonable assurances that the work will be done in a workmanlike manner and that any required building permits will be obtained;
(13) To refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services, when such accommodations may be necessary to afford a person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling; or
(14) In connection with the design and construction of covered multi-family dwellings for first occupancy after March 13, 1991, to fail to design and construct those dwellings in such a manner that: the dwellings have at least one building entrance on an accessible route, unless it is impractical to do so because of the terrain or unusual characteristics of the site; or with respect to dwellings with a building entrance on an accessible route that the public use and common use portion of such dwellings are readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities; that 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 that all premises within such dwellings contain an accessible route into and through the dwelling; light switches, electrical outlets, thermostats, and other environmental controls in accessible locations; reinforcements in bathroom walls to allow later installations of grab bars; and usable kitchens and bathrooms such that an individual in a wheelchair can maneuver about the space.
Source: Legislative text reproduced verbatim
Plain English

Champaign Ch. 17 § 17-71 broadly prohibits discriminatory conduct across virtually every stage of a housing or real estate transaction. Covered acts include refusing to deal, misrepresenting availability, publishing discriminatory advertisements, denying access to listing services, and failing to accommodate people with disabilities. The rule also sets specific requirements for how landlords must handle requests for physical modifications and how newly constructed multi-family buildings must be designed to be accessible.

Written by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6 · Reviewed on November 10, 2026

Plain English — not legal advice.

For Property Managers

Under Champaign Ch. 17 § 17-71, compliant property owners and managers treat all applicants and residents consistently regardless of protected characteristics, including disability and familial status. Operators generally respond to all bona fide offers, accurately represent property availability, and process modification requests from residents with disabilities by allowing reasonable changes at the resident's expense while following the provision's specific rules on restoration agreements and security deposits. Listings, advertisements, and application forms used by compliant operators contain no language that expresses a limitation or preference based on any protected class.

General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.

For Tenants

Champaign Ch. 17 § 17-71 gives housing seekers and residents broad protections against discriminatory treatment at every point in a real estate transaction, from initial inquiry through the terms of an existing tenancy. If a landlord refuses a reasonable modification request, denies a reasonable accommodation, or misrepresents a unit's availability, those actions may constitute violations of this provision. Tenants who believe their rights under § 17-71 have been violated can explore filing a complaint with the Champaign Human Relations Commission or consulting a local tenant-rights organization to understand available options.

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

Click on timeline segments to view historical versions.

References Out

No outbound references recorded yet for this provision.

References In

No inbound references recorded yet for this provision.

Related Rules

§ 5.106
§ 5.106 Equal access in accordance with the individual's gender identity in community planning and development programs.
§ 5.109
§ 5.109 Equal participation of faith-based organizations in HUD programs and activities.
§ 2
Policies; recommendations

Source Information

Snapshot SHA:
Fetched:Nov 10, 2026, 02:01 AM UTC