                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

DEFINITIONS (§ 36-96.1:1)

For the purposes of this chapter, unless the context requires a different
meaning:
		&#8220;Aggrieved person&#8221; means any person who (i) claims to have been
injured by a discriminatory housing practice or (ii) believes that such person
will be injured by a discriminatory housing practice that is about to occur.
		&#8220;Assistance animal&#8221; means an animal that works, provides
assistance, or performs tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, or
provides emotional support that alleviates one or more identified symptoms or
effects of a person&#8217;s disability. Assistance animals perform many
disability-related functions, including guiding individuals who are blind or
have low vision, alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to sounds,
providing protection or rescue assistance, pulling a wheelchair, fetching items,
alerting persons to impending seizures, or providing emotional support to
persons with disabilities who have a disability-related need for such support.
An assistance animal is not required to be individually trained or certified.
While dogs are the most common type of assistance animal, other animals can also
be assistance animals. An assistance animal is not a pet.
		&#8220;Complainant&#8221; means a person, including the Fair Housing Board,
who files a complaint under § 36-96.9.
		&#8220;Conciliation&#8221; means the attempted resolution of issues raised by
a complainant, or by the investigation of such complaint, through informal
negotiations involving the aggrieved person, the respondent, their respective
authorized representatives and the Fair Housing Board.
		&#8220;Conciliation agreement&#8221; means a written agreement setting forth
the resolution of the issues in conciliation.
		&#8220;Disability&#8221; means, with respect to a person, (i) a physical or
mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of such person&#8217;s
major life activities; (ii) a record of having such an impairment; or (iii)
being regarded as having such an impairment. The term does not include current,
illegal use of or addiction to a controlled substance as defined in Virginia or
federal law.
		&#8220;Discriminatory housing practices&#8221; means an act that is unlawful
under § 36-96.3, 36-96.4, 36-96.5, or 36-96.6.
		&#8220;Dwelling&#8221; means any building, structure, or portion thereof that
is occupied as, or designated or intended for occupancy as, a residence by one
or more families, and any vacant land that is offered for sale or lease for the
construction or location thereon of any such building, structure, or portion
thereof.
		&#8220;Elderliness&#8221; means an individual who has attained his fifty-fifth
birthday.
		&#8220;Familial status&#8221; means one or more individuals who have not
attained the age of 18 years being domiciled with (i) a parent or other person
having legal custody of such individual or individuals or (ii) the designee of
such parent or other person having custody with the written permission of such
parent or other person. The term &#8220;familial status&#8221; also includes any
person who is pregnant or is in the process of securing legal custody of any
individual who has not attained the age of 18 years. For purposes of this
section, &#8220;in the process of securing legal custody&#8221; means having
filed an appropriate petition to obtain legal custody of such minor in a court
of competent jurisdiction.
		&#8220;Family&#8221; includes a single individual, whether male or female.
		&#8220;Lending institution&#8221; includes any bank, savings institution,
credit union, insurance company or mortgage lender.
		&#8220;Major life activities&#8221; includes any the following functions:
caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking,
breathing, learning, and working.
		&#8220;Military status&#8221; means status as (i) a member of the uniformed
forces, as defined in 10 U.S.C. § 101(a)(5), of the United States or a reserve
component thereof named under 10 U.S.C. § 10101, (ii) a veteran as defined in
38 U.S.C. § 101(2), or (iii) a dependent as defined in 50 U.S.C. § 3911(4)
except that the support provided by the service member to the individual shall
have been provided 180 days immediately preceding an alleged action that if
proven true would constitute unlawful discrimination under this section instead
of 180 days immediately preceding an application for relief under 50 U.S.C.
Chapter 50.
		&#8220;Person&#8221; means one or more individuals, whether male or female,
corporations, partnerships, associations, labor organizations, fair housing
organizations, civil rights organizations, organizations, governmental entities,
legal representatives, mutual companies, joint stock companies, trusts,
unincorporated organizations, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy, receivers and
fiduciaries.
		&#8220;Physical or mental impairment&#8221; includes any of the following: (i)
any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical
loss affecting one or more of the following body systems: neurological;
musculoskeletal; special sense organs; respiratory, including speech organs;
cardiovascular; reproductive; digestive; genito-urinary; hemic and lymphatic;
skin; or endocrine or (ii) any mental or psychological disorder, such as an
intellectual or developmental disability, organic brain syndrome, emotional or
mental illness, or specific learning disability. &#8220;Physical or mental
impairment&#8221; includes such diseases and conditions as orthopedic, visual,
speech, and hearing impairments; cerebral palsy; autism; epilepsy; muscular
dystrophy; multiple sclerosis; cancer; heart disease; diabetes; human
immunodeficiency virus infection; intellectual and developmental disabilities;
emotional illness; drug addiction other than addiction caused by current,
illegal use of a controlled substance; and alcoholism.
		&#8220;Religion&#8221; includes any outward expression of religious faith,
including adherence to religious dressing and grooming practices and the
carrying or display of religious items or symbols.
		&#8220;Respondent&#8221; means any person or other entity alleged to have
violated the provisions of this chapter, as stated in a complaint filed under
the provisions of this chapter and any other person joined pursuant to the
provisions of § 36-96.9.
		&#8220;Restrictive covenant&#8221; means any specification in any instrument
affecting title to real property that purports to limit the use, occupancy,
transfer, rental, or lease of any dwelling because of race, color, religion,
national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status, sexual orientation, gender
identity, military status, or disability.
		&#8220;Source of funds&#8221; means any source that lawfully provides funds to
or on behalf of a renter or buyer of housing, including any assistance, benefit,
or subsidy program, whether such program is administered by a governmental or
nongovernmental entity.
		&#8220;To rent&#8221; means to lease, to sublease, to let, or otherwise to
grant for consideration the right to occupy premises not owned by the occupant.

HISTORY: 1972, c. 591, § 36-87; 1973, c. 358; 1978, c. 138; 1989, c. 88; 1991,
c. 557; 1992, c. 322; 1996, c. 77; 2003, c. 575; 2017, cc. 575, 729; 2020, cc.
477, 1137, 1140; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 477, 478; 2022, c. 799; 2023, cc. 148,
149.