Rachel Miller, the new Providence City Council representative for the West End and Federal Hill neighborhoods, is the lead sponsor of a new ordinance that would prevent discrimination in housing through the source of income. That is, landlords would no longer be able to exclude tenants who use programs such as alimony, federal housing vouchers or disability payments to help pay for their monthly rents.
Miller, who joined the council in January, has seven co-sponsors on the ordinance. It would only affect Providence properties if it becomes a law. She spoke to the Providence Business News this week about the issue.
Seifert Systems Invests in Energy Efficiency to Strengthen Operations
For manufacturers, energy is more than just another operating expense. It plays a critical role…
Learn More
PBN: What made you want to get involved in this issue?
MILLER: This legislation is an opportunity to expand access to safe, affordable homes. I represent the West End and Federal Hill. These are neighbors where the rent and home prices are rising rapidly. So, for apartments that are affordable, to people on any number of local and federal assistance programs, this is a modest step. This is something the city council and mayor can do together to protect people and their families who depend on these assistance programs. Providence is ready for this. Our communities are ready for this.
PBN: What are the most common forms of housing discrimination based on income source? Is it people who are on vouchers or disability, SSI?
MILLER: It’s hard to answer that any way but anecdotally. But if you look online at rental websites, we see two things. One, income-restricted apartments and two, “no section 8” listed. What we’re saying is just include these programs. Child support, veteran assistance, alimony. … We want to make it clear; this is income. It is a guaranteed income that is going to come every month. Anecdotally, what I’ve heard is [the most frequent exclusion is] vouchers. We’re talking about families, people with disabilities. These are our neighbors.
PBN: What should a landlord be allowed to consider, an income level and a credit score?
MILLER: This does not add any extra layer to the landlord-tenant law. A credit check is absolutely still legal. You can ask for a reference, under this law. Absolutely.
PBN: How big of a problem is this? Are you getting complaints in your district that this is a problem?
MILLER: I have heard especially from people who cannot find apartments who depend on these programs. The apartments they can afford are listed as: ‘We don’t take Section 8.’ That, right now, is legal. There is stigma associated with government assistance in any form, absolutely. People assume, ‘I don’t want to deal with a federal program.’ They assume it’s going to be cumbersome. There is a housing inspection required for housing choice vouchers. That housing inspection is nothing above and beyond current law.
Southcoast Housing did a survey. It found 40 percent of apartments that are available would be [affordable] for people on the housing choice program. They called 369 listings. Seventy-seven of those would not accept a voucher. We have an opportunity to have an education campaign.
PBN: Assuming it is approved, how do you track offenders?
MILLER: The ordinance lives with Providence discrimination laws. Those live in our human resources commission. It’s going to count a lot on community education, so people know they have the right to begin with. … Not that I’m anticipating violations, but enforcement will begin in court.
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at macdonald@pbn.com.
Why hasn’t anyone bothered to ask landlords who have accepted SEC8 in the past why they don’t want to any more?
I would think that determining the cause of a problem is the first step to solving it instead of making assumptions.