Iowa City prepares to take on Section 8 discrimination

IOWA CITY - It's a common notice to encounter when scanning local apartment listings: 'No Section 8 allowed.”

But Iowa City landlords could soon find it unlawful to refuse to rent to a prospective tenant based solely on the fact he or she holds a Housing Choice Voucher.

This week, the Iowa City Council approved the first of three readings to pass an amendment to the city's Human Rights Ordinance that essentially bans landlords and property managers from refusing to rent to people on low-income assistance programs like Section 8.

'The ordinance just means that anybody with a voucher has to have fair and equal access to the potential of renting that apartment,” said Steven Rackis, administrator for the Iowa City Housing Authority. 'It means the landlords would have to treat everybody equally and fairly and give anybody an opportunity to apply if they so wish.”

Iowa City Equity Director Stefanie Bowers said the city's fair housing laws already protect from discrimination against those on public assistance, but the amendment would expand that to include Housing Choice Vouchers - commonly known as Section 8, a name taken from a section of a federal housing act.

The amendment would prohibit landlords from advertising rental units with language that says voucher holders are not welcomed.

The amendment - proposed by the Human Rights Commission - has caused concern among members of the Greater Iowa City Area Apartment Association. The group has stated it does not support adding vouchers to the city's fair housing rules.

Correspondence sent last month from the association to the city argued in favor of keeping the voucher program voluntary for both tenants and landlords.

The association argues a landlord's risk is higher when renting to a Section 8 tenant, and could increase a property manager's insurance premiums.

In 2011, Cedar Rapids officials discussed a civil rights ordinance amendment similar to that being considered in Iowa City, but it failed to pass. Marion already bans landlords from discriminating against voucher holders, as do several other cities around the nation.

If Iowa City's initiative passes, Bowers said the amendment would be implemented this June to allow time for education and outreach to landlords, voucher holders and the public.

After that, complaints would go before the city's Human Rights Commission, similar to other allegations of violations to the Human Rights Ordinance.

Federally funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Housing Choice Voucher program is the country's major program for assisting low-income families, the elderly and the disabled.

Voucher in Johnson County and portions of Iowa and Washington counties are administered by the Iowa City Housing Authority.

Rackis said that region is capped at 1,292 vouchers - 1,215 Housing Choice Vouchers and 77 Veterans Supportive Housing Vouchers - and about 68 percent of voucher holders reside in Iowa City.

There are more residents who meet voucher criteria than there are vouchers available, Rackis said.

A 2014 survey of 210 voucher holders found that 31 percent of respondents believed possession of a voucher was the most common reason for housing discrimination in Johnson County.

Bowers said the amendment does nothing to force landlords to rent to voucher holders and all applicants would be subject to that property manager's screening process.

'It does not mandate that a landlord rent to an applicant because they are a voucher holder,” she said. 'I think the intended purpose is to improve the opportunity that people have to live in units where they want to live, in the neighborhoods they want to live in and of course in a unit that they can afford.”