02/16/2017
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
DALLAS DIVISION
The Inclusive Communities Project, Inc.,
Plaintiff,
v.
Governor Greg Abbott only in his
official capacity as Governor of
The State of Texas,
Defendant.
No. 3:17-cv-440
COMPLAINT
Summary
1. The Texas statute outlawing municipal ordinances that prohibit discrimination against recipients of federal housing vouchers is Tex. Local Gov’t Code § 250.007 (the “Statute”). The Statute became effective September 1, 2015. The Statute violates the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution and the Fair Housing Act sections 42 U.S.C. § 3604(a), and 42 U.S.C. § 3615.
2. Dallas area voucher households are concentrated in minority areas of the City of Dallas. Most of the multifamily landlords with units that can be rented at voucher program rents in White non-Hispanic areas refuse to rent to voucher households. There is an unmet demand by voucher households for dwelling units in these areas. The multifamily landlords with units that can be rented at voucher program rents and that rent to voucher households are disproportionately located in predominantly minority areas.
3. Ordinances and laws prohibiting discrimination against voucher participants lessen racial segregation and make more units available in White areas to Black families using vouchers. In 2015, the State of Texas passed the challenged Statute to outlaw these ordinances that make units available in White areas for voucher households. The Statute explicitly permits multifamily landlords to deny housing to voucher families who can pay the rent, satisfy the tenant selection criteria, and for whom there are no legitimate business reasons not to accept as tenants.
By permitting the multifamily landlords in White areas to discriminate solely on the basis of participation in the voucher program, the Statute excludes the predominantly Black voucher households from White areas. The Statute segregates those households in minority concentrated areas that are marked by conditions unequal to the conditions in the areas from which they are excluded. The Statute has the intent and the effect of perpetuating racial segregation.
4. Plaintiff Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. (ICP) helps Black voucher households gain access to housing in low poverty, non-racially concentrated locations in the Dallas metropolitan area. The Statute makes it more difficult and more expensive for ICP to obtain housing for its voucher clients in areas of low poverty and high opportunity.
