Renter’s guide: Can a landlord refuse a Section 8 voucher?

Federal law generally does not require every private landlord to accept a Housing Choice Voucher, commonly called a Section 8 voucher. But a growing patchwork of state, county and city laws prohibits landlords from rejecting applicants because they use a voucher or another lawful source of income.

Some federally subsidized properties — including many developments that receive Low-Income Housing Tax Credits — are also prohibited from discriminating against voucher holders, regardless of whether the surrounding jurisdiction has adopted a source-of-income law.

When refusing a voucher may be illegal

In a jurisdiction with source-of-income protections, a landlord generally cannot:

• Advertise that “Section 8 is not accepted”
• Refuse to show a unit after learning that an applicant has a voucher
• Require voucher holders to pay extra fees or larger deposits
• Demand additional references solely because an applicant uses rental assistance
• Apply stricter credit, employment or rental-history standards to voucher holders
• Require income equal to several times the full monthly rent when the tenant is responsible for only a portion of that rent
• Limit voucher holders to particular buildings, units or neighborhoods

HUD says discrimination can include not only an outright refusal to accept a voucher but also unreasonable screening requirements, extra references, larger security deposits and additional fees or penalties imposed on voucher holders.

Greystar, nation’s largest apartment manager, accused of rejecting renters with housing vouchers

Civil rights complaints accuse Greystar properties of refusing prospective tenants who use federal Housing Choice Vouchers

ConsumerNews.aiThe Editors

What landlords may still consider

A source-of-income law does not necessarily require a landlord to approve every voucher applicant.

Landlords may generally apply legitimate, consistently enforced screening standards, including:

• Rental history
• Criminal-history rules permitted by applicable law
• Credit information
• Whether the tenant can pay the portion of the rent not covered by the voucher
• Whether the household meets lawful occupancy limits
• Whether the applicant provided accurate information

The key issue is whether the same relevant standards are applied to all applicants rather than using the voucher as an automatic reason for rejection.

A landlord may also decline a unit if the housing authority determines that the rent is unreasonable, the unit fails the required inspection or the owner cannot meet program requirements. But the landlord generally cannot manufacture obstacles or refuse to begin the voucher approval process when local law requires participation.

Income requirements can be misleading

One common dispute involves rules requiring applicants to earn two or three times the monthly rent.

Suppose an apartment rents for $2,000, but the voucher holder is responsible for only $500. In many jurisdictions with source-of-income protections, the landlord may be required to apply its income formula to the tenant’s $500 share rather than the full $2,000 rent.

Applying the formula to the full rent can effectively disqualify nearly every voucher holder and may be treated as indirect source-of-income discrimination.

The precise rule varies by state and locality, so renters should check with their housing authority or civil rights agency.

How to check your local law

Start with:

1. Your state attorney general or civil rights agency
2. Your city or county housing department
3. The public housing authority that issued the voucher
4. A local fair-housing organization or legal-aid office
5. HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher tenant-rights information

Source-of-income protections may exist at the city or county level even when there is no statewide law. They may also protect Social Security, disability benefits, child support, veterans’ benefits and other lawful income in addition to housing vouchers.

What to do if a landlord says “no Section 8”

Ask the landlord to put the reason for the rejection in writing.

Save:

• The rental advertisement
• Screenshots of the listing
• Emails and text messages
• Application and screening requirements
• Receipts for application fees
• The name of the leasing agent
• The date and time of every call
• Notes recording exactly what was said

Do not secretly record a telephone call without checking state law. Recording-consent rules differ by jurisdiction.

A renter can also ask a friend or advocate to contact the same property without mentioning a voucher. Evidence that the unit was described as available to one caller but unavailable to a voucher holder may help investigators identify discriminatory treatment.

Where to file a complaint

Depending on the location, complaints may be filed with:

• A state or local civil rights commission
• A state attorney general
• A city housing or human-rights agency
• HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
• A private fair-housing organization

Federal fair-housing law does not expressly list source of income as a protected category. However, voucher discrimination may sometimes overlap with discrimination based on race, disability, familial status or another characteristic protected by federal law.

Renters should act promptly because administrative complaints and lawsuits are subject to filing deadlines.

Bottom line

A landlord’s claim that it “doesn’t participate in Section 8” is not necessarily the final word.

In many parts of the country, refusing a qualified tenant solely because the tenant uses a housing voucher is illegal. Even where no statewide protection exists, a city or county ordinance — or rules attached to a federally subsidized property — may protect the applicant.

The safest response is to document the refusal, check the law covering the property’s exact location and contact the housing authority or fair-housing agency before abandoning the application.