2019-182 Source of Income DiscriminationDate: October 18, 2019 Report No. 2019-182
INFORMAL STAFF REPORT
TO MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT:
On October 5, 2019, Council Member Armintor requested a work session to discuss adopting an
ordinance exactly like the Dallas Veterans' Housing Discrimination ordinance.
BACKGROUND:
In response to the request, City Manager’s Office staff contacted Dallas and received a copy of the
City of Dallas’s Fair Housing Ordinance Chapter 20A. The information collected was reviewed
by City staff in Legal, Public Affairs, and Community Development. In November 2014, the City
of Dallas entered into a Voluntary Compliance Agreement with HUD, in which the City agreed
that staff would introduce an ordinance to council that would prohibit “source of income”
discrimination, specifically regarding Housing Choice Vouchers. In December 2014, the City of
Austin adopted such an ordinance. In 2015, the Legislature adopted the new LGC 250.007, which
prohibits adoption of an ordinance that would prohibit such discrimination. 250.007(b) carves out
a specific provision for ordinances that would protect veterans from source of income
discrimination, and (c) specifically allows creation of voluntary programs to discourage source of
income discrimination.
Subsequently, Dallas adopted the following provision to its Fair Housing Ordinance Chapter 20A:
20A-3 (21) SOURCE OF INCOME means lawful, regular, and verifiable income from
whatever source derived (including housing vouchers and other subsidies provided by
government or non-governmental entities, child support, or spousal maintenance), except
as prohibited by Texas Local Government Code, Section 250.007, as amended. For
purposes of housing accommodations that benefit from a subsidy approved by the city
council on or after the effective date of this ordinance, source of income includes housing
choice vouchers and other federal, state, and local housing subsidies.
…and amended the following section:
20A-4 (a) A person commits an offense if he, because of race, color, sex, religion,
handicap, familial status, national origin, or source of income:
(1) refuses to negotiate with a person for the sale or rental of a housing
accommodation or otherwise denies or makes unavailable a housing accommodation to a
person;
(2) refuses to sell or rent, or otherwise makes unavailable, a housing accommodation
to another person after the other person makes an offer to buy or rent the accommodation;
or
(3) discriminates against a person in the terms, conditions, or privileges of, or in
providing a service or facility in connection with, the sale or rental of a housing
accommodation.
Date: October 18, 2019 Report No. 2019-182
Note that while the new definition in 20A-3 (21) SOURCE OF INCOME initially seems quite
broad, the ordinance limits the application to anything that is prohibited by LGC 250.007, which
is essentially everything except for the veteran carve-out. It appears that Dallas was attempting to
address its obligation to HUD in the new language.
DISCUSSION:
The HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program combines Housing
Choice Voucher (HCV) rental assistance through the Denton Housing Authority (DHA) for
homeless Veterans with case management and clinical services provided by the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA).
Every year since 2008, HUD and VA have awarded HUD-VASH vouchers based on geographic
need and the local public housing agency (DHA) administrative performance. The allocation
process for HUD-VASH vouchers is a collaborative approach that relies on three sets of data:
HUD’s point-in-time data submitted by Continuums of Care (CoCs), VA medical centers
(VAMCs) data on the number of contacts with homeless Veterans, and performance data from
PHAs and VAMCs. Since 2017 there have been twenty (20) HUD-VASH vouchers that were
awarded to DHA and all veterans provided these vouchers have been housed.
The community does currently have housing assistance programs that seek to overcome income
barriers. Doors for Denton County and the Barriers Fund incentivize landlords to voluntarily open
doors to housing units and lower barriers to housing. Since January 2019, the Housing Navigator
has successfully recruited 53 Units from 33 landlords to accept as tenants, homeless households
being assisted in local agency programs including veterans with VASH.
If the City of Denton wishes to prohibit source of income discrimination for veterans through
ordinance like Dallas, different language could be used to accomplish the same effect. Veterans
are not currently a protected class in federal law therefore, options would also need to be discussed
related to how compliance and enforcement would be handled by the City.
STAFF CONTACT:
Danielle Shaw
Community Development Manager
940-349-7237
Danielle.Shaw@cityofdenton.com
REQUESTOR:
Council Member Armintor
PARTICIPATING DEPARTMENTS:
Legal, City Manager’s Office, Public Affairs, and Community Development
STAFF TIME TO COMPLETE REPORT:
2 Hours