Sponsor Testimony - House Bill 229, Commerce and Labor Committee (Ohio)

Summary

Written sponsor testimony on House Bill 229, addressed to Chairman Manning, vice-chair Bill Dean, Ranking Member Lepore-Hagan and members of the Commerce and Labor committee. It states that House Bill 229 would prohibit landlords from discriminating against tenants who use the Housing Choice Voucher Program, and thanks Representative Adam Miller for joint sponsorship. The testimony cites the 1968 Fair Housing Act, says over 229,000 Ohio households use a federal housing voucher, and says that in Cuyahoga County 90% of households using vouchers are concentrated in neighborhoods with minimal resources. It also lists Cincinnati, Linndale, South Euclid, University Heights, Warrensville Heights and Wickliffe as Ohio cities with source of income protections.

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Chairman Manning, vice-chair Bill Dean, Ranking Member Lepore-Hagan, and members of the
Commerce and Labor committee, thank you for providing the opportunity to offer sponsor
testimony on House Bill 229. I would like to also to thank Representative Adam Miller for his
joint sponsorship of this legislation.

Although the 1968 Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race,
color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability, the truth is that discrimination
continues to happen, oftentimes affecting economically disadvantaged minorities.

Public housing has shifted over the years from unit based to voucher based. The use of vouchers
was designed so a new form of discrimination otherwise known as redlining, would be
eliminated as voucher recipients could find housing in communities of their choice—and it’s
happening here in Ohio.

House Bill 229 would prohibit landlords from discriminating against tenants who utilize the
federal governments Housing Choice Voucher Program. This bill simply would prohibit
landlords from discrimination against tenants based on form of payment—particularly the use of
federal vouchers for rent. Fifteen states have passed similar laws. This legislation will help
prevent a new form modern day redlining and work to create true multi-income, multi-cultural
communities.

In Ohio, approximately 34% of households rent their homes, and over 229,000 Ohio households
use a federal housing voucher to help pay the rent. The goals of the Housing Choice Voucher
program, often referred to as Section 8, is to eliminate the concentration of poverty and to
provide households with low incomes access to higher-opportunity neighborhoods.

However, in most of Ohio, landlords can legally refuse to accept vouchers, which means that
these households end up clustered in areas with high poverty, high crime, and low
educational opportunities. In Cuyahoga County, 90% of households using vouchers are
concentrated in neighborhoods with minimal resources. In Ohio, the most frequently reported
barrier to finding housing is landlord refusal of vouchers.

A Scholars Strategy Network of Northeast Ohio study found that in Cuyahoga County, some
16% of Craigslist rental listings over a three-month period in summer 2018 contained such
language. Finding rental housing is far more difficult for families using vouchers to pay rent.
Sometimes, advertisements for rental properties contain explicit language
stating the landlord does not accept vouchers.

Income discrimination is real and it’s frequent in Ohio. The few non-discrimination laws we
have at the municipal level are not sufficient to protect tenants. The decision to exclude voucher
holders from renting properties often disproportionately harms individuals in
other protected classes, such as race, disability, or familial status.

For example, 90% of those who use vouchers in Cuyahoga County are African American. Across
Ohio, over 28% of people receiving federal rental assistance are adults with disabilities, 80% are
women, and 38% are households with children.
According to the Poverty and Race Research Action Council, 14 states have some form of source
of income non-discrimination law, and numerous other counties and cities in the U.S. have
similar legislation. Six cities in Ohio have these protections: Cincinnati, Linndale, South
Euclid, University Heights, Warrensville Heights, and Wickliffe. This covers only a tiny fraction
of the State and Ohio’s renter’s population. Inconsistent protections throughout the state likely
limit the effectiveness of all non-discrimination policies, whereas a state-wide ban on source
income discrimination would provide the economies of scale and geographic consistency
necessary to enforce the law.

I believe that most landlords are stepping up and doing the right thing. However, what HB 229
does is codifies common sense: you shouldn’t be able to deny someone because they are getting
some help. The whole movement to vouchers was aimed at inclusion and choice, this bill ensures
that.

Chairman Manning and the members of the Commerce and Labor committee, I thank you for
allowing me to give testimony, and I thank you for consideration of House Bill 425.


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