New California 2020 laws: No more discriminating against renters who have housing vouchers
https://www.elkgrovenews.net/2019/12/new-2020-laws-no-more-discriminating.html
By Byrhonda Lyons, CalMatters |
In an effort to help remedy California’s housing
affordability crisis, a law taking effect Jan. 1 bars landlords from
discriminating against low-income renters with Section 8 vouchers.
Tenants
who qualify for the Section 8 program pay 30% of their income toward rent, and
the federal government pays the rest.
Getting a voucher is
not easy. Applicants can wait for years to qualify for the program, and
once they receive a voucher, they typically have 60 days to find a place before
their voucher expires. A major challenge: finding a landlord willing to accept
the subsidy.
Landlords
have long been legally prohibited from discriminating against renters based on
race, disability or source of income — but “no Section 8” policies were legal.
The new law, authored by Los Angeles Democratic Sen. Holly Mitchell, expands
the definition of source of income to include Section 8 vouchers.
While
some cities had already outlawed Section 8 housing discrimination, California
is the first state to do so.
Even
under the new law, landlords still can reject applicants for poor credit and
rental history.
It’s
still unclear how effective the law will be; California cities with local bans
have seen mixed results. In many cases, there’s little enforcement and “No
section 8” ads still abound.
In this
video, CalMatters’ economic inequality reporter Jackie Botts breaks
down the new law in one minute.
Between
now and the end of the year, watch as CalMatters video producer Byrhonda Lyons
and the CalMatters reporting team build a video
playlist that explains how various new laws will
influence the lives of Californians.
CalMatters.org is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and
politics.
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