The Legal Aid Justice Center (LAJC) submits this comment in support of the Virginia Fair Housing Office’s proposed guidance regarding housing discrimination based on source of funds. The Legal Aid Justice Center partners with communities and clients across Virginia to achieve justice by dismantling systems that create and perpetuate poverty and racial injustice. LAJC engages in individual representation, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and organizing strategies in a variety of legal areas; among our main focuses are housing justice and tenants’ rights. We regularly represent low-income tenants who can only afford stable housing because of government or charitable subsidies, most commonly the Housing Choice Voucher Program.

LAJC supports this important guidance because it provides clarity on the recent inclusion of Source of Funds as a protected category in Virginia’s Fair Housing Law.   Although we do our best to represent as many low-income tenants as we can, the vast majority of tenants in Virginia are unrepresented and their ability to assert their rights without an attorney is critical.  This proposed guidance will increase the chances that both landlords and tenants understand exactly what the new law mandates and make it easier for tenants to protect themselves.   

LAJC supports the guidance for three primary reasons.  First, the interpretation of the new law contained in the Fair Housing Office guidance is in-line with interpretations of substantially similar laws from other jurisdictions.  Second, it is the only interpretation that preserves the intent of the law.  Specifically, the guidance clarifies that landlords cannot impose income to rent ratio restrictions based on the contract rent rather than the tenant’s portion of that rent.  Were landlords allowed to deny voucher holders’ rental applications based on their incomes, voucher holders would be categorically excluded from renting, thereby eviscerating the purpose of this new protection.  Similarly, the guidance states that general administrative burdens are not a valid basis for a landlord to deny a voucher holder’s rental application.  An administrative burden exception would almost completely frustrate the intent of the law by giving all landlords an excuse not to rent to voucher holders.  This law was created to ensure stable housing for all tenants in their area of choice, regardless of whether they require rental assistance or not.  Allowing landlords to create criteria that functionally bar voucher holders would mean allowing wholesale segregation of those tenant families into areas with less desirable housing.

Third, Virginia’s new Source of Funds non-discrimination law needs to be enforced to the fullest extent possible so that it can be used to combat the continuing legacy of segregation in our state.  Discrimination against voucher holders mirrors discrimination against communities of color.  According to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), 71% of housing choice voucher families in Virginia are Black.[1]  Interpreting the new Source of Funds non-discrimination law in anyway contrary to this proposed guidance would further entrench racial and economic segregation.

Thank you for your consideration. Please feel free to contact LAJC if you have any questions.