To the editor,
Athens City Council recently banned source of income discrimination (SOID), making it illegal for city landlords to discriminate against tenants who pay rent with public assistance, such as Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs) from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Rental ads declaring "No HUD" or "No Section 8" and similar statements by landlords, long common in Athens, now constitute a criminal offense.
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This is great news! According to HUD data and the Scholars Strategy Network, discrimination against voucher recipients is something thatâs been making life even more difficult for our most vulnerable neighbors. Local voucher recipients experience extreme poverty, with an average household income of $10,421 per year. Women, people with disabilities and people of color all use vouchers to pay rent at disproportionate rates. In Ohio, 80% of people receiving rental assistance are women. In Athens County, 82% of people living in households using HCVs have disabilities. HVCs are intended to prevent vulnerable tenants from being homeless. No longer will we allow any landlords to deny people housing simply because they receive HVCs.