WAC 162-36-020   Content and language of solicitation.  Residential segregation on the basis of race, creed, national origin or other ethnic classification is rooted in the history of this country and fixed in the patterns of thought of many people. The content and language of a solicitation of names of prospective purchasers directed to neighbors of a house listed for sale, must be examined in this context in assessing whether the solicitation constitutes an unfair practice within the meaning of RCW 49.60.222 and WAC 162-36-010. A solicitation which indicates that the recipient of the solicitation can control the type of persons who will move into the neighborhood by referring appropriate prospective buyers, is likely to be understood as an invitation to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, marital status, families with children status, the presence of a sensory, mental or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a disabled person. Phrases such as "uphold the standards of the community" (when the "standards" are unspecified) are likely to be understood the same way. Accordingly, it is an unfair practice under RCW 49.60.222 and WAC 162-36-010 for the content or language of a neighborhood solicitation to:

     (1) Suggest in any way that the solicitor, buyer or seller has the power to control the type or character of the person or persons to whom the property involved may be sold;

     (2) Invite or provoke discriminatory feelings, actions, or responses from the person or persons being solicited;

     (3) Make reference to an assumed standard of the community which the solicitor, buyer or seller must or will uphold, unless the particular community standard is identified specifically, and the standard does not have the effect of excluding persons of a particular race, creed, color, national origin, sex, marital status, families with children status, the presence of a sensory, mental or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a disabled person.



[Statutory Authority: RCW 49.60.120(3) and 1997 c 271. 98-08-035, § 162-36-020, filed 3/23/98, effective 4/23/98. Statutory Authority: RCW 49.60.120(3) and 49.60.240. 96-13-045, § 162-36-020, filed 6/13/96, effective 7/14/96; Order 14, § 162-36-020, filed 7/16/73.]