LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Several agencies across Lexington teamed up to try to rally more community support for an income discrimination ban in the city.
After facing some initial hesitation, they're hoping to convince council members at their upcoming meeting to push the proposal forward through a strong show of support during public comment.
At October 10th's Social Services & Public Safety (SSPS) Committee meeting, council members made no decision on the issue, choosing instead to hold another meeting on November 14.
" A lot of people are being affected, especially families with small children, moms and elderly people," said Shay Woods, who works for the Fair Housing Council in Lexington.
Kentucky Tenants Union, New Vista, Greenhouse 17, Arbor Youth Sevices, The Homeless and Housing Coalition of Kentucky, The Hope Center, Kentucky Equal Justice Center, and Kentucky Fair Housing Council, Kentucky Housing Corporation are among those in support of a ban.
"Banning source of income discrimination will reduce segregation within our community, significantly reduce the time spend homeless for people who receive homeless specific vouchers and lead to great equity within our communities," said Dylan Schell with New Vista.
But the push-back they're facing is as loud and as motivated. Council members said they have gotten calls and emails from concerned landlords.
The Lexington Landlord Association is among those concerned about being "forced" to rent out their property.
In the meeting, Council members asked questions regarding how such a ban would affect landlords, tenants, and rent prices in Lexington.
At the request of Councilman David Sevigny, Charlie Lanter, Housing Advocacy & Community Development at Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government (LFUCG) presented the potential impact of a ban.
The Social Services and Public Safety committee decided not to pass the ban on Tuesday. However, it will resume conversations in November with public comment.
The Issue:
According to housing advocates in the city, their definition of "income-discrimination" refers to landlords who rent out property not accepting certain legal forms of payments like housing vouchers. They include:
• Social Security
• Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers
• Other program vouchers, including VASH for veterans
• Child Support
• Alimony
Lanter says their research suggests low to moderate income families are being impacted the most. They're seeing the impact through a limited number of available housing options, longer searchers leading to the expiration of vouchers, and limited options for quality and size of units.
The Data:
A snapshot in time on September 27 shows all but two available units aggregated to a particular area of town.
On September 15, of 557 rental listings, 534 said no vouchers or “Section 8” accepted. It left only 4% of units to those that use such vouchers.
The breakdown:
• 1 bedroom: 164 listings - 10 accept Section 8, 154 don’t.
• 2 bedrooms: 167 listings - 6 accept Section 8, 161 don’t.
• 3 bedrooms: 149 listings - 6 accept Section 8, 143 don’t.
• 4 bedrooms: 77 listings - 1 accepts Section 8, 76 don’t.
The proposal for a ban would mean landlords with properties that people can legally afford would have to give those people the opportunity to apply for the unit.
Fair Market Rents – used as max for most programs
• 3BR - $1,599
• 2BR - $1,177
• 1BR - $983
Properties with rents higher than the voucher limits
would not be impacted. Landlords do not have to lower
rent to the voucher amount.
In Lexington, 76% of Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers are held by black households
"Housing assistance and voucher programs are meant to give people opportunities and choice but too many low- and moderate-income tenants in Lexington lack options for where they can live. This proposal would not require landlords to accept tenants they wouldn’t otherwise rent to. All we’re asking is fair consideration for those using a non-standard source of payment to cover their rent. Hopefully we’ve provided some clarity on this issue now we look forward to a robust community conversation on how to move forward," said Lanter.
Support:
KY Tenants Union has advocated for gettin such a ban passed for more than a year.
"This is our lives that we're talking about. A lot of us have used housing vouchers or have lost them for a number of different reasons," said Emma Anderson, lead organizer for Lexington.
The Homelessness Prevention and Intervention Board/Continuum of Care (Homelessness providers) largely support adopting a resolution and sending a letter in support.
