HR5443-119

What This Bill Does

This bill amends the Fair Housing Act to make it illegal for landlords, real estate agents, and mortgage lenders to discriminate against people based on their source of income (like Section 8 housing vouchers, Social Security benefits, or child support), their status as a veteran, or their status as active military personnel. Currently, federal law protects against discrimination based on race, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability - this bill adds three more protected classes to that list.

Who Benefits and How

The biggest beneficiaries are people who use housing vouchers or government assistance to pay rent. About 2.3 million households use Section 8 vouchers, and currently many landlords refuse to rent to them simply because they use vouchers - this bill would make that illegal. Veterans and active military service members would gain protection against housing discrimination based on their military status. People living on Social Security, disability benefits, or court-ordered income like child support would also be protected from being denied housing simply because their income comes from these sources rather than traditional employment.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Landlords and property owners will lose the ability to screen out tenants based on source of income, veteran status, or military status. This means they must accept Section 8 vouchers and other forms of housing assistance if the tenant otherwise qualifies. Property management companies and real estate agents will need to update their policies and train staff on the new protected classes to avoid Fair Housing Act violations, which can result in lawsuits and penalties. State and local fair housing agencies will have 40 months to update their enforcement systems to handle complaints based on these new protected classes, requiring policy revisions and staff training.

Key Provisions

• Adds "source of income," "veteran status," and "military status" to the list of protected classes in the Fair Housing Act, making discrimination based on these characteristics illegal in housing sales, rentals, lending, and real estate services
• Defines "source of income" broadly to include Section 8 vouchers, all forms of government housing assistance, Social Security and disability benefits, court-ordered payments, trust payments, and "any other lawful source of income or funds"
• Explicitly allows nonprofits and other organizations to provide targeted services to people receiving housing assistance (they can still run programs specifically for voucher holders)
• Updates criminal penalties in the Civil Rights Act of 1968 to cover discrimination based on these three new protected classes
• Gives state and local enforcement agencies 40 months (extendable by 6 months in special circumstances) to update their certification and enforcement systems