Section 8 Tenants Protected From Discrimination Under New Policy

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL — Over the objections of landlords and real estate brokers, the Hillsborough County Commission approved an ordinance that will prevent landlords from discriminating against tenants based on income.

At the urging of County Commissioner Kim Overman, the commission voted to require landlords provide tenants with a bill of rights and a notice of late fees, two facets of the ordinance landlords said they had no problem accepting.

It's the section of the ordinance that prohibits discrimination based on a renter's source of income that prompted landlords and real estate brokers to flood county commissioners' offices with phone calls and emails.

Overman said she introduced the ordinance in response to many low-income families being turned away from rental properties because they receive rent subsidies from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Section 8 is a common name for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, funded by the federal agency, which guarantees up to 70 percent of a tenant's rent.

"As the county continues to grow, we have to ensure that renters are not priced out of the market based on their income status," Overman said.

Jacob Bruynell, director of government affairs for Tampa Bay Realtors, said his association wholeheartedly applauds the tenant's bill of rights and providing notice to renters before they're penalized for paying their rental fees late.

However, he said requiring landlords to accept Section 8 housing will force many landlords out of the market.

Bruynell said it's not a question of discrimination. It's the red tape that goes with accepting federal vouchers.

He said more than 40 percent of the homes in Hillsborough County are rented and about a third of all residential rental property is owned by mom-and-pop landlords with less than four properties for rent.

These landlords depend on this extra income for their retirement, health care or their children's college education, Bruynell said.

The requirement for landlords to accept Section 8 vouchers would be "an administrative and regulatory burden for these landlords," he said.

Steven Nystrom, who owns 13 rental units, said the ordinance will put small business owners at a disadvantage.

"Forcing people to accept Section 8 and go through the process required by the federal government does create a problem," he said. "Small business owners won’t be able to equally meet the criteria of Section 8. You’re changing the rental market and the way contracts are written and administered."

Landlord, Realtor and property manager Andrew Dougill said the bureaucracy imposed by the ordinance will have "a huge unintentional consequence."

He said it will force small landlords out of business, reducing the amount of rental property in the county.

"I believe we can find a better way to do this," he said.

However, lifelong Hillsborough County resident Angel D'Angelo, who rents his home, applauded the commission's efforts to protect the county's renters.

"Landlords make it sound like they need to pick themselves up by the bootstraps," he said. "Well a lot of people in Hillsborough County work for less than survival wages and we're just told to deal with it. I think landlords can deal with a 7 percent income loss. They just don't want to accept Section 8 renters, the majority of which are Black, brown, poor, as well as disabled."

Overman added the ordinance doesn't require landlords to participate in the federal housing program. She said it simply says they can't refuse to rent to someone who receives rental subsidies, including veterans who receive help through the Veterans Administration or a family receiving coronavirus relief funds.

While Commissioner Mariella Smith said she understands there's red tape some landlords prefer not to deal with it, "We have a crisis of affordable housing in our community" and the federal government has stepped up with vouchers to help people pay their rent.

She said there are 10,000 families in Hillsborough County who receive rental vouchers and two-thirds of those families are Black.

"But, if nobody accepts those vouchers, they're useless," she said. "Government can't fix everything. We all have to do our part. We have to step up as a community and do some things that take some work. Allowing landlords to reject everyone who pays with vouchers is like allowing grocery stores to reject everyone paying for food with food stamps. And it's allowing our community to say, 'We don't serve a certain class of people.'"

The commission voted 5-1 to approve the ordinance with Commissioner Stacy White dissenting.