PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Landlords who discriminate against housing voucher holders will be held accountable, according to the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations (PCHR), which has started enforcing new protections for renters under the Fair Practices Ordinance.
The Fair Practices Ordinance was already in effect in Philadelphia, but an expansion to the measure, sponsored by Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, was passed earlier this year to include the specific wording “voucher holders.”
The new protections now explicitly prohibit landlords from discriminating against tenants based on their source of income.
“A Section 8 voucher is a source of income. The Fair Practices Ordinance protects individuals against source-of-income discrimination,” said Pamela Gwaltney, PCHR deputy director of compliance. “And what this amendment, or these enhanced protections, include is a specific indication that a Section 8 voucher is a source of income and it is protected under the Fair Practices Ordinance.”
Gwaltney said some landlords deny voucher holders for many reasons. Some are close-minded to the needs of those on assistance, she said, while others may feel it’s too much of a burden and too many hoops to jump through, as properties must be approved by the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) to rent to voucher holders.
The PHA renter program provides rental assistance by paying a portion directly to private landlords. The properties must be approved by PHA.
“Landlords say that they don’t take vouchers or they don’t know anything about the vouchers,” Gwaltney said. “Or if they do end up taking the voucher, [they] act as if they’re taking it, then later reject the individual from being able to rent the property.”
Andrew Goodman, director of equitable development for Gauthier’s office, said people call the council member’s office often about this issue.
“Early in Councilmember Gauthier’s first term, we were seeing certainly the trends of there being people actually not being able to put their voucher to work because they could not find a property owner who would accept it, which is truly a tragedy,” he recalled.
By including vouchers in the ordinance, Goodman said it provides a much stronger “legal argument for those that were experiencing discrimination.”
Also under the expanded ordinance, landlords must “complete the necessary paperwork for processing rental vouchers promptly, without premeditated delays,” the PCHR said.
Violators could face a minimum $2,000 fine.
The ordinance permits renters to seek immediate legal recourse if needed. Voucher holders who feel they have faced discrimination should fill out an intake form at phila.gov/pchr.