Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation
 
Board
Real Estate Board
 
Guidance Document Change: This guidance provides technical assistance regarding what actions, behaviors, policies, and procedures likely do and do not violate the Virginia Fair Housing Law’s prohibition on discrimination on the basis of one’s lawful source of funds.
Previous Comment     Next Comment     Back to List of Comments
3/17/21  12:08 pm
Commenter: Anonymous

This Guidance Violates the Fair Housing Act in an Attempt to Interpret Legislative Intent
 

Anytime the basis for a decision is one's membership in a protected class that action constitutes a violation of the Virginia Fair Housing act.  Saying someone should be screened differently because their income is via a voucher vs an employer paycheck (both sources are part of the protected class) is no different than saying two individuals should be screened differently because of their religion or race.  PERIOD!

As stated earlier asking someone to use one's membership in protected class as the basis for a housing related decision violates the act.

Had the Source of Funds definition been intended to protect only voucher holders then it should have been written as such.  IT WAS NOT.  The Fair Housing Board and Real Estate boards to not have the authority to rewrite the law.  That is for the General Assembly to do.  Those in support of this guidance need to ask the General Assembly to redefine Source of Funds.  It is not the place of the Real Estate and Fair Housing Boards to endorse violations of the Fair Housing Act in order to achieve a "legislative intent".

The law needs to be followed as written!  If people don't like it then they need to change the law.

CommentID: 97364