Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 3, March 22, 2024
A. Submission of
information.
The Commission will receive information concerning alleged
discriminatory housing practices from any person. Where the information
constitutes a complaint within the meaning of the Fair Housing Law and is
furnished by an aggrieved person, it will be considered to be filed under
65-220(E). Where additional information is required for purposes of perfecting
a complaint under the Fair Housing Law, the Commission will advise what
additional information is needed and will provide appropriate assistance in the
filing of the complaint.
B.
Who may file complaints.
Any aggrieved person may file a complaint no later than 180
days after an alleged discriminatory housing practice has occurred or
terminated. The complaint may be filed with the assistance of an authorized
representative of an aggrieved person, including any organization acting on
behalf of an aggrieved person.
C. Persons against whom complaints may be
filed.
(1) A complaint may be filed against
any person alleged to be engaged, to have engaged, or to be about to engage, in
a discriminatory housing practice.
(2) A complaint may also be filed against any
person who directs or controls, or has the right to direct or control, the
conduct of another person with respect to any aspect of the sale, rental,
advertising or financing of dwellings or the provision of brokerage services
relating to the sale or rental of dwellings if that other person, acting within
the scope of his or her authority as an employee or agent of the directing or
controlling person, is engaged, has engaged, or is about to engage, in a
discriminatory housing practice.
D. Where to file complaints.
(a) Aggrieved persons may file complaints in
person with, or by mail to: South Carolina Human Affairs Commission, Post
Office Drawer 4490, Columbia, South Carolina 29240.
(b) Aggrieved persons may provide information
to be contained in a complaint by telephone to the South Carolina Human Affairs
Commission. The South Carolina Human Affairs Commission will reduce information
provided by telephone to writing on the prescribed complaint form and send the
form to the aggrieved person to be signed and affirmed as provided in
65-220(E).
E. Form and
content of complaint.
(1) Each complaint must
be in writing and must be signed and affirmed by the aggrieved person filing
the complaint. The signature and affirmation may be made at any time during the
investigation. The affirmation shall state: "I declare under penalty of perjury
that the foregoing is true and correct."
(2) The Commission may require complaints to
be made on prescribed forms. Notwithstanding any requirement for use of a
prescribed form, the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission will accept any
written statement which substantially sets forth the allegations of a
discriminatory housing practice under the Fair Housing Law, as a Fair Housing
Law complaint.
(3) Each complaint
must contain substantially the following information:
(a) The name and address of the aggrieved
person.
(b) The name and address of
the respondent.
(c) A description
and the address of the dwelling which is involved, if appropriate.
(d) A concise statement of the facts,
including pertinent dates, constituting the alleged discriminatory housing
practice.
F.
Date of filing of complaint.
(1) A complaint
is filed when it is received by the South Carolina Human Affairs
Commission.
(2) The Commission may
determine that a complaint is filed for the purpose of the 180 day period for
the filing of complaints, upon the submission of written information (including
information provided by telephone and reduced to writing by an employee of the
South Carolina Human Affairs Commission) identifying the parties and describing
generally the alleged discriminatory housing practice.
(3) Where a complaint alleges a
discriminatory housing practice that is continuing, as manifested in a number
of incidents of such conduct, the complaint will be timely filed within 180
days of the last alleged occurrence of that practice.
G. Amendment of complaint.
Complaints may be reasonably and fairly amended at any time.
Such amendments may include, but are not limited to: amendments to cure
technical defects or omissions, including failure to sign or affirm a
complaint, to clarify or amplify the allegations in a complaint or to join
additional or substitute respondents. Except for the purposes of notifying
respondents, amended complaints will be considered as having been made as of
the original filing date.
H. Service of notice on aggrieved person.
Upon the filing of a complaint, the Commission will notify,
by certified mail or personal service, each aggrieved person on whose behalf
the complaint was filed. The notice will:
(1) Acknowledge the filing of the complaint
and state the date that the complaint was accepted for filing.
(2) Include a copy of the
complaint.
(3) Advise the aggrieved
person of the time limits applicable to complaint processing and of the
procedural rights and obligations of the aggrieved person.
(4) Advise the aggrieved person of his or her
right to commence a civil action in an appropriate court, not later than one
year after the occurrence or termination of the alleged discriminatory housing
practice. The notice will state that the computation of this one year period
excludes any time during which a proceeding is pending under this Rule with
respect to a complaint or charge based on the alleged discriminatory housing
practice. The notice will also state that the time period includes the time
during which an action arising from a breach of a conciliation agreement is
pending.
I. Notification
of respondent; jointure or additional or substitute respondents.
(1) Within ten days of the filing of a
complaint or the filing of an amended complaint the Commission will serve a
notice on each respondent by certified mail or by personal service. A person
who is not named as a respondent in the complaint, but who is identified in the
course of the investigation as a person who is alleged to be engaged, to have
engaged, or to be about to engage in the discriminatory housing practice upon
which the complaint is based may be joined as an additional or substitute
respondent by service of a notice on the person under this section within ten
days of the identification.
(2)
(a) The notice will identify the alleged
discriminatory housing practice upon which the complaint is based, and include
a copy of the complaint.
(b) The
notice will state the date that the complaint was accepted for
filing.
(c) The notice will advise
the respondent of the time limits applicable to complaint processing and of the
procedural rights and obligations of the respondent, including the opportunity
to submit an answer to the complaint within ten days of the receipt of the
notice.
(d) The notice will advise
the respondent of the aggrieved person's right to commence a civil action in an
appropriate Court, not later than one year after the occurrence or termination
of the alleged discriminatory housing practice. The notice will state that the
computation of this one year period excludes any time during which a proceeding
is pending with respect to a complaint or charge based on the alleged
discriminatory housing practice. The notice will also state that the time
period includes the time during which an action arising from a breach of a
conciliation agreement is pending.
(e) If the person is not named in the
complaint, but is being joined as an additional or substitute respondent, the
notice will explain the basis for the Commission's belief that the joined
person is properly joined as a respondent.
(f) The notice will advise the respondent
that retaliation against any person because he or she made a complaint or
testified, assisted or participated in an investigation or conciliation is a
discriminatory housing practice that is prohibited by the Fair Housing
Law.
J.
Answer to complaint.
(1) The respondent may
file an answer not later than ten days after receipt of the notice described in
65-220(I). The respondent may assert any defense that might be available to a
defendant in a court of law. The answer must be signed and affirmed by the
respondent. The affirmation must state: "I declare under penalty of perjury the
foregoing is true and correct."
(2)
An answer may be reasonably and fairly amended at any time.
