CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A new bill filed in the North Carolina House seeks to ban local governments from forcing landlords to accept federal rent assistance, also known as Section 8 vouchers.
Charlotte became the first North Carolina city to pass a "source of income discrimination" provision in July 2022 and Mecklenburg County expanded the measure that fall.
The provision means landlords that get money from the city or county must accept housing vouchers as a form of payment from tenants. It does not apply to all rentals.
House Bill 551, filed by Mecklenburg County State Representative John Bradford, would get rid of the voucher protection. In other words, landlords could refuse to accept them as payment, forcing voucher holders to look for somewhere else to live.
"There's a clear attack on tenants and their lives, especially our low-income tenants," said Jessica Moreno, a Charlotte housing advocate.
The goal of Charlotte's provision is to help people who are struggling financially have a better chance at finding a place to live. It's hard for people with rental assistance to find housing because of high rent prices, Moreno explained. Plus, many landlords don't want to accept vouchers.
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"We need to really care about the people that live here, not just the corporations,” Moreno added.
While Moreno thinks the bill could hurt Charlotte’s most vulnerable, city council member Ed Driggs thinks the current ordinance can hurt business owners.
“Almost all voucher holders are good tenants, pay their rent, behave themselves, but a higher percentage than average among all tenants have problems," Driggs said. "And when problems arise, the landlords find trying to get some sort of remedy in the courts is very difficult. They can go months without getting their rent.”
Driggs also argued the voucher requirement shies developers away from applying for city incentives. “If we offer the same incentive we were offering before, but it has associated with it this requirement, or this exposure, that isn’t as big a motivator.”
The bill will need to pass out of the Judiciary 1 Committee before it can be taken up by the full state House.
WCNC Charlotte reached out to Representative Bradford for comment on his legislation and is waiting to hear back.
Julia Kauffman: Contact Julia Kauffman at jkauffman@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.