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(1) When a reasonable cause determination has been made under SCC 2.460.220 of unlawful discrimination in a real estate transaction and a finding has been made that the respondent has engaged in unlawful conduct in a real estate transaction under SCC 2.460.230, the hearing examiner shall promptly issue an order for such relief suffered by the aggrieved person as may be appropriate, which may include actual damages as provided by the federal fair housing amendments act of 1988 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 3601 et seq.), and injunctive or other equitable relief. Such order may, to further the public interest, assess a civil penalty against the respondent:

(a) In an amount up to $10,000 if the respondent has not been determined to have committed any prior act of unlawful discrimination in a real estate transaction;

(b) In an amount up to $25,000 if the respondent has been determined to have committed one other act of unlawful discrimination in a real estate transaction during the five-year period ending on the date of the filing of this charge; or

(c) In an amount up to $50,000 if the respondent has been determined to have committed two or more acts of unlawful discrimination in a real estate transaction during the seven-year period ending on the date of the filing of this charge, for loss of the right secured by SCC 2.460.130 or 2.460.140, as now or hereafter amended, to be free from discrimination in real property transactions because of sex, marital status, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, families with children status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person who is blind, deaf, or physically disabled. Enforcement of the order and appeal therefrom by the complainant or respondent may be made as provided in SCC 2.460.240 and 2.460.250. If acts constituting the unlawful discrimination in a real estate transaction that is the object of the charge are determined to have been committed by the same natural person who has been previously determined to have committed acts constituting unlawful discrimination in a real estate transaction, then the civil penalty of up to $50,000 may be imposed without regard to the period of time within which any subsequent unlawful discrimination in a real estate transaction occurred. All civil penalties assessed under this section shall be paid into the county and credited to the general fund created by SCC 4.07.010.

(2) Such order shall not affect any contract, sale, conveyance, encumbrance, or lease consummated before the issuance of an order that involves a bona fide purchaser, encumbrancer, or tenant who does not have actual notice of the charge filed under this chapter.

(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, persons awarded damages under this section may not receive additional damages pursuant to SCC 2.460.230. (Added by Amended Ord. 10-021, June 7, 2010, Eff date Aug. 21, 2010; Amended by Amended Ord. 16-034, June 1, 2016, Eff date June 15, 2016).