On Monday, the City of Charlotte voted in favor of approving the Great Neighborhoods Committee’s recommendation to adopt source of income protections in city-supported housing. The policy prevents landlords who receive city-supported subsidies or financial incentives from refusing tenants on the basis that they are participants in either the Housing Choice Voucher program or other rental subsidy programs.
The Council requested that Housing and Neighborhood Services staff craft an enforcement mechanism for the policy. These details are expected to be presented at the next business meeting on August 22.
The Housing Choice Voucher program (formerly known as Section 8) is the nation’s largest affordable housing subsidy. In Charlotte, the program is administered by Inlivian (formerly the Charlotte Housing Authority).
Source of income protections have existed since 1971, but have recently increasingly gained traction at the local level. Of the more than 120 state and local source of income protections laws in existence, Charlotte’s policy is the first of its kind to be enacted in North Carolina. Other cities to pass source of income legislation in recent years include Atlanta and Louisville, both of which prohibit all landlords across the city from refusing to rent to Housing Choice Voucher participants.
