Texas Law Bars Source of Income Discrimination

According to an article by Sarah Holder and Kriston Capps in Bloomberg CityLab, “A state law will prohibit homeowners associations from discriminating against tenants using rental vouchers.”

The law comes in response to an effort by multiple Texas HOA’s to ban renters using Section 8 housing vouchers. “The practice has been more widespread than previously known: At least 15 HOAs comprising thousands of homes in the Dallas area have at one point restricted voucher users.”

The authors note that “After the law goes into effect Sept. 1, finding these policies and making sure they are removed may be quite a challenge. The law doesn't outline any enforcement mechanism.” State Representative Chris Turner, who introduced the new legislation, “acknowledged that the law does not address broader rental restrictions HOAs have applied, and said it was something that he would ‘look at’ in the future.”

The article concludes, “The law’s impact will also depend on where HOA policies go next, and whether homeowners continue to reinforce old barriers. State laws can change, federal regulations can adjust, but the community rules governing HOAs can adapt even quicker.”