Title
Authorizing the Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development, and the Homeless to conduct hearings regarding discrimination against households holding tenant-based vouchers, putting thousands of vulnerable Philadelphians at risk of homelessness, and the effect of this discrimination on Philadelphia's affordable housing crisis.
Body
WHEREAS, Since 1974, the Philadelphia Housing Authority, through the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, has provided rental assistance to low-income families in the private rental market under the Housing Choice Voucher Program; and
WHEREAS, Tenant-based vouchers were seen as a mechanism to increase affordable housing options for low-income families by allowing households to choose their own apartment on the private rental market and apply the voucher toward monthly rent; and
WHEREAS, The Housing Choice Voucher Program serves approximately 19,000 households in Philadelphia, making it the largest tenant-based voucher program in the City; and
WHEREAS, Tenant-based voucher programs have been implemented by government agencies and nonprofits alike, including the City of Philadelphia Office of Homeless Services, and nonprofits that serve populations that are disproportionately discriminated against on the housing market, such as resettling immigrants and young adults who have aged out of foster care; and
WHEREAS, Tenant-based vouchers serve families at much lower income than most new apartment buildings constructed with government funding, as well as new rent-restricted units created through the Zoning Code's various Mixed Income Housing and Mixed Income Neighborhoods provisions, with 75% of PHA's voucher households earning 30% of the region's Area Median Income or below; and
WHEREAS, The Fair Practices Ordinance protects tenants from unfair rental practices by landlords and prohibits landlords from refusing to rent based on a tenant's source of income, including tenant-based vouchers; and
WHEREAS, ...
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