Call Us: 305-598-5488 What is source of income discrimination? In searching for housing, many people face discrimination by housing providers who are unwilling to rent to voucher holders. As a result, several states and municipalities, including Florida’s Broward and Miami-Dade Counties, have adopted laws prohibiting housing discrimination based on source of income.
The law in Miami-Dade County: Miami – Dade County, Florida Code of Ordinances, Chapter 11A – DISCRIMINATION, ARTICLE II. – HOUSING, Sec. 11A-11. – Definitions, (12) Source of income shall mean the lawful, verifiable income paid directly to a tenant or paid to a representative of a tenant, including, but not limited to, Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, Supplemental Security Income, Social Security, pensions and other retirement benefits.
- 100.60Unlawful refusal to sell or rent or to negotiate for the sale or rental.
(a) It shall be unlawful for a person to refuse to sell or rent a dwelling to a person who has made a bona fide offer, because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin or to refuse to negotiate with a person for the sale or rental of a dwelling because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin, or to discriminate against any person in the sale or rental of a dwelling because of handicap.
(b) Prohibited actions under this section include, but are not limited to:
(1) Failing to accept or consider a bona fide offer because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.
(2) Refusing to sell or rent a dwelling to, or to negotiate for the sale or rental of a dwelling with, any person because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.
(3) Imposing different sales prices or rental charges for the sale or rental of a dwelling upon any person because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.
(4) Using different qualification criteria or applications, or sale or rental standards or procedures, such as income standards, application requirements, application fees, credit analysis or sale or rental approval procedures or other requirements, because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or
national origin.
(5) Evicting tenants because of their race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin or because of the race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin of a tenant’s guest.
(6) Conditioning the availability of a dwelling, including the price, qualification criteria, or standards or procedures for securing the dwelling, on a person’s response to harassment because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.
(7) Subjecting a person to harassment because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin that causes the person to vacate a dwelling or abandon efforts to secure the dwelling.
[54 FR 3283, Jan. 23, 1989, as amended at 81 FR 63074, Sept. 14, 2016]