County Board closes gap in housing discrimination law

The Milwaukee County Board on Thursday approved revising the county fair housing law by prohibiting landlords from discriminating against potential tenants solely on the basis of their use of government-funded rental or other housing assistance vouchers.

County residents receiving vouchers for rental payments will be added as a protected class in the fair housing ordinance under the resolution sponsored by Supervisor Marina Dimitrijevic. The board approved the measure on a 12-3 vote.

Supervisors Deanna Alexander, Dan Sebring and Patti Logsdon voted against the proposal. The measure “takes away rights of landlords,” Logsdon said.

Supervisors Anthony Staskunas and Sylvia OrtizVelez abstained from voting due to conflicts of interest.

“We live in one of the most segregated cities” in the U.S., Dimitrijevic said prior to the vote. “We must rid ourselves of discriminatory practices.”

Fair housing advocates supported the proposal as one step toward providing housing stability for low-income residents of the county as well as an opportunity for those residents to move out of segregated neighborhoods with poor quality housing.

The Apartment Association of South Eastern Wisconsin, the largest association of landlords in the metropolitan area, did not oppose the ordinance change. Association President Ron Hegwood said the group would educate landlords on the primary voucher program, known as Section 8. Those vouchers are provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Landlords with a consistent screening progress can select tenants based on multiple considerations, including credit checks and criminal background checks, Hegwood said.

Dimitrijevic agreed to amend the resolution to include an apartment association recommendation for a new revolving fund to assist tenants receiving rental or other housing assistance with the first month’s payments.

Landlords have complained about long delays required to process the vouchers and a revolving fund would provide tenants with a “bridge loan” during the transition to a new residence, said Hegwood.