Public Hearing on Source of Income Discrimination
Updated 11/27/23: Source of Income Discrimination Public Hearing
On November 14th, the Social Services and Public Safety (SSPS) Committee held a special public input meeting to hear from the community about Source of Income (SOI) Discrimination.
As a reminder: SOI Discrimination is when a landlord refuses to lease a housing unit to a tenant based on a lawful source of income that is not received from an employer, such as Section 8 Vouchers. The proposal to ban SOI discrimination seeks to provide more housing choices to those with alternative sources of income — often, people with other sources of income are underserved and/or minority populations.
At this hearing, renters and landlords spoke to how a ban on SOI discrimination would impact their experiences.
Renters largely focused on how an SOI discrimination ban would allow more housing options to be available to renters with alternate forms of income and provide them more choice in where they live.
Landlords claimed that an SOI ban would force them to participate in a program that some landlords have had significant problems administering in the past, and claimed that similar bans have contributed to higher rents in other cities.
No action was taken on the issue. The Committee will return to the discussion at their next meeting in January.
The Social Services and Public Safety Committee is holding a special meeting this week to hear public input on banning Source of Income (SOI) Discrimination. This meeting was set by Committee Chair Councilmember Jennifer Reynolds after they heard a presentation on SOI discrimination in their October meeting.
SOI Discrimination is when a landlord refuses to lease a housing unit to a tenant based on a lawful source of income that is not received from an employer, such as Section 8 Vouchers. The proposal to ban SOI discrimination seeks to provide more housing choices to those with alternative sources of income — often, people with other sources of income are underserved and minority populations.
At their October meeting, the Committee discussed how adding language to Lexington’s current Fairness Ordinance banning SOI Discrimination in rental housing would impact Lexington’s renters and landlords.
This public hearing will take place on Tuesday, November 14, 2023, at 6pm in Council Chambers. Read the entire Fairness Ordinance here. You can attend in-person or watch live on LexTV.
