Source of Income/Receipt of Public Assistance Discrimination

Currently, there are significant limitations related to protecting persons using government assistance and lawful forms of income from housing discrimination.

General Information:

• HUD Housing Choice Voucher Program Guidebook: The purpose of the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) guidebook is to provide an easy-to-use, one-stop resource to assist public housing agencies (PHAs), families and other stakeholders in the administration of the tenant-based housing subsidy programs. The guidebook consolidates into one document the most up-to-date guidance and requirements outlined in multiple publications: regulatory requirements, PIH Notices, Federal Register Notices, and other forms of guidance issued by HUD.
• What You Need to Know About How Section 8 Really Works, ProPublica
• Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers: Revised Implementation of the HUD-VA Supportive Housing Program, Federal Register, March 23, 2012.
• PRRAC Appendix of Source of Income Laws: Notes states and localities who have provided Source of Income or Section 8 housing discrimination protection. Updated November 2019
• GoSection8 site: Find housing providers who will rent to persons on Section 8/housing choice vouchers.
• HUD Rule Clarifying Relocation of Housing Choice Voucher Holders, August 20, 2015
• CFPB Guidance – Income from the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership Program shouldn’t mean you don’t qualify for a mortgage 5-11-15
• Indiana HB 1300 (2015): Prohibits a county, municipality, or township from adopting an ordinance that requires or would have the effect of requiring a landlord to participate in: (1) a Section 8 program of the federal Housing Act of 1937; or (2) a similar program concerning housing.

HUD/DOJ Guidance:

• Over Subsidization in the Housing Choice Voucher Program, October 16, 2014: Memo which reviews when voucher for additional bedrooms may be obtained.

Reports of Interest:

• Protecting Housing Choice Voucher Holders from Discrimination, Urban Institute, 2020
• A Pilot Study of Landlord Acceptance of Housing Choice Vouchers, HUD Office of Policy Development & Research, 2018.
• Housing Choice In Crisis: An Audit Report on Discrimination Against Housing Choice Voucher Holders in the Greater New Orleans Rental Housing Market, Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center, 2010.
• Will You Take My Voucher? An Update on Source of Income Discrimination in the District of Columbia, Equal Rights Center, April 2013.
• Prohibiting Discrimination Against Renters Using Housing Vouchers Improves Results – Lessons From Cities and States That Have Enacted Source of Income Laws, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities 2018
• Getting Past ‘No’: Housing Choice Voucher Holders’ Experiences with Discrimination and Search Costs, Poverty & Race Research Action Council, May 2010.
• Fair Housing Rental Testing Audit on Section 8 Denial Rates in Marion County, Indiana, Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana 2014.
• Fair Housing Trends Report 2013, National Fair Housing Alliance.
• Courts Consider Landlord Defenses of Source of Income Laws, Housing Law Bulletin, Volume 38.
• The Impact of Housing Vouchers on Crime in US Cities and Suburbs, Michael C. Lens, 2013.
• The Impact of Source of Income Laws on Voucher Utilization and Locational Outcomes, US Department of Housing & Urban Development, 2011.
• Source-of-Income Discrimination and the Fair Housing Act, Robert G. Schwemm, 2020.
• No License to Discriminate: Real Estate Advertising, Source of Income Discrimination, and Homelessness in New York City, Fair Housing Justice Center, 2008.