Is source of income considered a fair housing protected class?
The federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) prohibits discrimination in housing and housing related transactions based on the seven protected classes of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or familial status. As of this writing, source of income is not a protected class under the FHA but some states and many city and county jurisdictions have added source of income as a protected class by statute or ordinance. A landlord with property governed by source of income anti-discrimination laws cannot reject an applicant on the basis of the applicant’s source of income as long as the income comes from a lawful source. Lawful sources of income can come from programs, assistance, or benefits such as Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Veteran benefits, alimony, child support, or other type of non-earned income. A landlord may ask an applicant about the applicant’s income and source of income but only in order to determine the applicant’s ability to pay stated rent. All lawful sources of income must be accepted equally by the landlord. The landlord’s screening and selection process must be required of all applicants equally in the same non-discriminatory manner.
A landlord cannot require a larger security deposit, a co-signer, or otherwise burden an applicant with additional qualification requirements based upon the applicant’s source of income that would not be required of another applicant.
Research should be conducted to determine applicable laws for the location of the rental property. A landlord must comply with the requirements that provide the highest level of protection against housing discrimination.