By Emily Badger | The Washington Post
Earlier this week, the Baltimore County Council considered a bill that would have barred landlords from turning away prospective renters based on how they come by their rent money.
“Source of income” laws are meant to protect low-income tenants for whom fair housing’s more well-established edicts — landlords can’t discriminate by race, religion, disability or family status — aren’t enough. They additionally ban landlords from discriminating against renters who get help covering their rent from the government. Such laws mean landlords can’t legally broadcast “No Section 8” in their Craigslist ads. They can’t make a policy of rejecting voucher holders outright.
