Updated July 2023
Set out below is a compilation of state, local, and federal statutes prohibiting discrimination in the housing market based on source of income, along with an annotated bibliography of studies and published articles relating to discrimination against families with federal Housing Choice Vouchers. You can use the hyperlinks in the table of contents to navigate through the document. This compilation updates research originally compiled by PRRAC in 2009 and also drawing on earlier documents prepared by the National Housing Law Project and the Center for Policy Alternatives. The compilation was updated for the Fourth National Housing Mobility Conference in 2012 and was published as an appendix to the PRRAC-Urban Institute housing mobility toolkit that followed the conference, Expanding Choice: Practical Strategies for Building a Successful Housing Mobility Program (February 2013). Since 2013, we have regularly updated the appendix as these state and local laws have proliferated. In addition, we have compiled a guide for advocates and local policy leaders, titled Crafting an Effective Local Source of Income Discrimination Law (March 2020).
In 2018, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities released a report using the data from this Appendix to provide a national overview of laws protecting Housing Choice Voucher families from discrimination. The report, Prohibiting Discrimination Against Renters Using Housing Vouchers Improves Results, by Alison Bell, Barbara Sard, and Becky Koepnick (December 2018), includes a chronology of adoption of the statutes and ordinances described below, and an interactive map.1 In 2020, the Urban Institute also developed a dataset based on this Appendix, which presents the information in a more analytic framework. Zillow has also incorporated data from this Appendix in the “Local Legal Protections” section of its online rental listings. See also this advocacy guide on SOI protections for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program. 1 In 2020, the Urban Institute also developed a
1 According to the Center’s calculations, at the time their report was released, source of income discrimination laws protected 34% of voucher holders in the U.S. With the addition of seven states since December 2018 (New York, California, Colorado, Rhode Island, Maryland, Virginia, and Illinois) and many new municipalities, we estimate that over 57% of voucher holders are now covered.
We are grateful for the contributions and corrections of our current and former staff contributors, and many of our legal services colleagues in the Housing Justice Network (see our full list of acknowledgements p.253). If you discover any errors in this document or have additional materials to add (new ordinances, case law developments, law review articles, etc.), please contact Phil Tegeler (ptegeler@prrac.org).
