Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY-7) has started the year with a bill to amend the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination based on use of Section 8 vouchers. H.R.232 has been referred to the House Committee on Financial Services, the Committees on Ways and Means, and the Judiciary.

Vermont, nine other states (Connecticut, Deleware, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, and Utah), and the District of Columbia have added fair housing protections based on receipt of public assistance. California, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin have laws that prohibit discrimination based on source of income but do not include housing vouchers. Adding this protection at the federal level would make the common – and legal in most states – practice of landlords refusing to rent to people with housing choice vouchers illegal, which would increase housing opportunity.

Efforts to use the disparate impact argument in Section 8 discrimination cases in states without the protection have had mixed results. Since housing voucher holders are likely to be adults with children or disabled (38% and 20%, respectively, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities 2015), when discriminating against those with vouchers, there is often a disproportionate impact based on the tenant’s familial status or disability (both protected classes at the federal level). Litigation arguing that landlords refusing to accept housing choice vouchers creates an unlawful disparate impact on protected classes is not always successful, as tenants sometimes struggle with issues of proof.

Two states – Indiana and Texas – have laws that actually preempt local governments from protecting housing voucher recipients; adding a federal protection would overrule those laws.

Rep. Velazquez is a strong advocate for public housing residents and supports efforts that combine market-driven solutions, federal support, and state and local initiatives to address the shortage of affordable housing. She introduced a similar bill in 2016.

In late 2018, Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, introduced the “Fair Housing Improvement Act of 2018” in the Senate. S.3612 would prohibit housing discrimination based on source of income or veteran status. It was read twice and has been referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

More resources:

• To learn more about the impact of housing voucher discrimination, and the positive  outcomes in places with more housing choice, check out this study from the Journal of Planning Literature  and this article by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
• To see what states have added fair housing protections, check out this interactive map from the Policy Surveillance Program.