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Rent Regulations

Effingham — Ch. 17 Art. VI Fair Housing § 17-158

Misrepresenting availability of housing

In Force
Verified 11/10/2026 · Next check 12/10/2026
EffinghamAdvertising Rules

Operative Text

Effingham — Ch. 17 Art. VI Fair Housing § 17-158
It shall be unlawful to represent to any person because of his race, color, creed, ancestry, national origin, or physical or mental handicap that any dwelling is not available for inspection, sale or rental when said dwelling is, in fact, available therefor.
Source: Legislative text reproduced verbatim
Plain English

Section 17-158 of Effingham's Fair Housing ordinance (Ch. 17, Art. VI) prohibits anyone from falsely telling a prospective buyer or renter that a dwelling is unavailable for inspection, sale, or rental when it actually is available, if that false statement is made because of the person's race, color, creed, ancestry, national origin, or physical or mental handicap. The rule targets a practice sometimes called 'steering by omission,' where housing is hidden from certain people based on protected characteristics. It applies to any dwelling covered by the ordinance, regardless of who is doing the representing.

Written by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6 · Reviewed on November 9, 2026

Plain English — not legal advice.

For Property Managers

Under § 17-158, operators and their agents are generally expected to provide consistent, accurate availability information to all prospective tenants or buyers regardless of race, color, creed, ancestry, national origin, or physical or mental handicap. Compliant property managers typically maintain uniform written records of unit availability and apply the same disclosure practices to every inquiry. Training leasing staff to respond to availability questions in a standardized, documented way is a common practice associated with compliance under this provision.

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

For Tenants

Section 17-158 gives prospective renters and buyers a basis to challenge a situation where they were told a dwelling was unavailable but later learned it was, in fact, available at the time of their inquiry, if that misrepresentation was tied to a protected characteristic such as race, color, creed, ancestry, national origin, or physical or mental handicap. People who believe they experienced this type of misrepresentation may consider documenting the interaction — including dates, names, and what was said — as a starting point. General enforcement paths under Ch. 17, Art. VI may include filing a complaint with the local authority responsible for fair housing matters or reaching out to a tenant-rights or fair housing organization for guidance.

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 9, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.

Effective Timeline

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References Out

No outbound references recorded yet for this provision.

References In

Rules and statutes that cite this regulation

IL Muni § 17-181
IL Muni § 17-139
IL Muni § 17-186
IL Muni § 17-184

Related Rules

§ 100.306
§ 100.306 Intent to operate as housing designed for persons who are 55 years of age or older.
§ 6-10-055
Job opportunity advertisements
§ 2.76.110
Posting of discrimination policy required

Source Information

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