What is SF 252?
The Iowa Legislature has recently passed a bill known as SF 252. Governor Kim Reynolds also recently signed the bill, officially passing the bill into law. This bill was created in response to the nondiscrimination ordinances for individuals who receive housing vouchers in Marion, Iowa City, and Des Moines. Currently, these three cities have made it illegal for landlords to deny an individual housing based solely on their use of Section 8 housing vouchers. The Section 8 Housing Voucher Program is a Housing Assistance Program that assists low-income individuals and families in affording safe and sanitary housing.
With the passage of SF 252, cities and counties will no longer be able to protect voucher recipients from being denied housing. Essentially, landlords will be able to discriminate against low-income individuals who receive federal housing assistance and cities/counties will have no control over whether or not landlords accept Section 8 vouchers.
Impact on our Communities
SF 252 will leave a negative impact on many communities in a multitude of ways.
Firstly, this bill is a blatant violation of civil rights, allowing the use of housing vouchers to determine an individual’s right to safe and affordable housing. People experiencing poverty are already facing numerous barriers to housing access, from lack of affordable housing options to limited availability of housing assistance. The addition of this bill will only further limit low-income people and families from attaining and maintaining housing.
Among all people experiencing poverty, women and Black people will be disproportionately affected by discrimination under SF 252. Women-led households account for over 80% of Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher recipients. Additionally, over 40% of Section 8 households are Black-led. When considering the discrimination and bias that these groups already face, this bill makes it easier to legally discriminate against people of any protected class by using section 8 vouchers as an excuse for denial of housing.
Section 8 recipients are reliable renters
Many landlords are hesitant to accept Section 8 tenants in their facilities due to the stereotypes of people experiencing poverty. In reality, Section 8 tenants are simply people who need financial assistance to have a safe roof over their heads, and vouchers can provide a reliable source of income for landlords who accept them. When asked about the benefits of having Section 8 tenants, Landlords Myrna and Jim Loehrlein stated “We have rented to Section 8 recipients a number of times. In fact, we have recommended it to tenants who were struggling. With Section 8 renters, we know that rent payments will be reliably supported. This is a program that serves both low-income renters and their landlords. So many people are on waiting lists for this benefit that we hope some way can be found to increase funding to support more program participation.”
CMC believes that all individuals, regardless of gender identity, race, socioeconomic status, ability, ethnicity, age, religion, sexual orientation, language, educational background, or family make-up deserve safe and affordable housing. SF 252 jeopardizes the rights of individuals receiving Section 8 vouchers, and CMC will continue to advocate for policy and culture that bolsters an individual’s rights to fair and safe housing, rather than taking them away.