Subdivision 1. Real property interest; action by owner, lessee, and others. It is an unfair discriminatory practice for an owner, lessee, sublessee, assignee, or managing agent of, or other person having the right to sell, rent or lease any real property, or any agent of any of these:

(1) to refuse to sell, rent, or lease or otherwise deny to or withhold from any person or group of persons any real property because of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, disability, sexual orientation, or familial status; or

(2) to discriminate against any person or group of persons because of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, disability, sexual orientation, or familial status in the terms, conditions or privileges of the sale, rental or lease of any real property or in the furnishing of facilities or services in connection therewith, except that nothing in this clause shall be construed to prohibit the adoption of reasonable rules intended to protect the safety of minors in their use of the real property or any facilities or services furnished in connection therewith; or

(3) in any transaction involving real property, to print, circulate or post or cause to be printed, circulated, or posted any advertisement or sign, or use any form of application for the purchase, rental or lease of real property, or make any record or inquiry in connection with the prospective purchase, rental, or lease of real property which expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification, or discrimination as to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, disability, sexual orientation, or familial status, or any intent to make any such limitation, specification, or discrimination except that nothing in this clause shall be construed to prohibit the advertisement of a dwelling unit as available to adults-only if the person placing the advertisement reasonably believes that the provisions of this section prohibiting discrimination because of familial status do not apply to the dwelling unit.

Subd. 2. Real property interest; action by brokers, agents, and others. It is an unfair discriminatory practice for a real estate broker, real estate salesperson, or employee, or agent thereof:

(1) to refuse to sell, rent, or lease or to offer for sale, rental, or lease any real property to any person or group of persons or to negotiate for the sale, rental, or lease of any real property to any person or group of persons because of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, disability, sexual orientation, or familial status or represent that real property is not available for inspection, sale, rental, or lease when in fact it is so available, or otherwise deny or withhold any real property or any facilities of real property to or from any person or group of persons because of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, disability, sexual orientation, or familial status; or

(2) to discriminate against any person because of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, disability, sexual orientation, or familial status in the terms, conditions or privileges of the sale, rental or lease of real property or in the furnishing of facilities or services in connection therewith; or

(3) to print, circulate, or post or cause to be printed, circulated, or posted any advertisement or sign, or use any form of application for the purchase, rental, or lease of any real property or make any record or inquiry in connection with the prospective purchase, rental or lease of any real property, which expresses directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or discrimination as to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, disability, sexual orientation, or familial status or any intent to make any such limitation, specification, or discrimination except that nothing in this clause shall be construed to prohibit the advertisement of a dwelling unit as available to adults-only if the person placing the advertisement reasonably believes that the provisions of this section prohibiting discrimination because of familial status do not apply to the dwelling unit.

Subd. 3. Real property interest; action by financial institution. It is an unfair discriminatory practice for a person, bank, banking organization, mortgage company, insurance company, or other financial institution or lender to whom application is made for financial assistance for the purchase, lease, acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair or maintenance of any real property or any agent or employee thereof:

(1) to discriminate against any person or group of persons because of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, disability, sexual orientation, or familial status of the person or group of persons or of the prospective occupants or tenants of the real property in the granting, withholding, extending, modifying or renewing, or in the rates, terms, conditions, or privileges of the financial assistance or in the extension of services in connection therewith; or

(2) to use any form of application for the financial assistance or make any record or inquiry in connection with applications for the financial assistance which expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification, or discrimination as to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, disability, sexual orientation, or familial status or any intent to make any such limitation, specification, or discrimination; or

(3) to discriminate against any person or group of persons who desire to purchase, lease, acquire, construct, rehabilitate, repair, or maintain real property in a specific urban or rural area or any part thereof solely because of the social, economic, or environmental conditions of the area in the granting, withholding, extending, modifying, or renewing, or in the rates, terms, conditions, or privileges of the financial assistance or in the extension of services in connection therewith.

Subd. 4. Real property transaction. It is an unfair discriminatory practice for any real estate broker or real estate salesperson, for the purpose of inducing a real property transaction from which the person, the person's firm, or any of its members may benefit financially, to represent that a change has occurred or will or may occur in the composition with respect to race, creed, color, national origin, sex, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, sexual orientation, or disability of the owners or occupants in the block, neighborhood, or area in which the real property is located, and to represent, directly or indirectly, that this change will or may result in undesirable consequences in the block, neighborhood, or area in which the real property is located, including but not limited to the lowering of property values, an increase in criminal or antisocial behavior, or a decline in the quality of schools or other public facilities.

Subd. 5. Real property full and equal access. It is an unfair discriminatory practice for a person to deny full and equal access to real property provided for in sections 363A.08 to 363A.19, and 363A.28, subdivision 10, to a person who is totally or partially blind, deaf, or has a physical or sensory disability and who uses a service animal, if the service animal can be properly identified as being from a recognized program which trains service animals to aid persons who are totally or partially blind or deaf or have physical or sensory disabilities. The person may not be required to pay extra compensation for the service animal but is liable for damage done to the premises by the service animal.

Subd. 6. Real property interest; interference with. It is an unfair discriminatory practice for a person to coerce, intimidate, threaten, or interfere with a person in the exercise or enjoyment of, or on account of that person having exercised or enjoyed, or on account of that person having aided or encouraged a third person in the exercise or enjoyment of, any right granted or protected by this section.

History: 1955 c 516 s 5; 1961 c 428 s 5; 1965 c 585 s 2; 1965 c 586 s 1; 1967 c 897 s 12-16; 1969 c 9 s 80; 1969 c 975 s 3-5; 1973 c 296 s 1; 1973 c 729 s 3,16; 1974 c 354 s 1; 1975 c 206 s 2-5; 1977 c 351 s 5-7; 1977 c 408 s 3; 1980 c 531 s 4; 1980 c 540 s 1,2; 1981 c 330 s 1; 1982 c 517 s 8; 1983 c 216 art 1 s 59; 1983 c 276 s 7-10; 1984 c 533 s 2,3; 1985 c 248 s 70; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 23 s 3; 1987 c 129 s 3; 1987 c 141 s 2; 1987 c 245 s 1; 1988 c 660 s 4; 1989 c 280 s 9-14,21; 1990 c 567 s 3-6; 1992 c 527 s 12-16; 1993 c 22 s 8-15; 1993 c 277 s 5-7; 1994 c 630 art 12 s 1; 1995 c 212 art 2 s 10; 1997 c 171 s 1; 2001 c 186 s 1; 2001 c 194 s 2

NOTE: Any statutory exemptions to this section are covered under sections 363A.21, 363A.22, and 363A.26.