House committee introduced bill to bar landlords from demanding Social Security numbers and add immigration status to fair-housing protections

Rep. Leonora Dodd, a member of the Vermont House, introduced H.169 to the House Committee on General and Housing on Feb. 13 as a committee walkthrough rather than a hearing, saying the measure is aimed at retaining workforce members who face housing barriers.

The bill would prohibit a landlord or the landlord's agent from requesting an applicant's Social Security number to apply for a residential rental agreement or to conduct a criminal background or credit check. It would also add "citizenship" and "immigration status" to the classes protected under Vermont's Fair Housing and Public Accommodations Act.

The committee's legislative counsel, Cameron Wood of the Office of Legislative Council, read the draft language for the committee. Wood said, "you cannot request a social security number in order to apply to enter into the rental agreement or to conduct the criminal background or the credit check," and clarified the draft does not ban landlords from conducting background or credit checks using other identifying information. He also noted that if identification is required during the application process, the landlord must accept an original or copy of any form of government-issued identification.

Supporters and the bill text described two principal aims: reducing identity-fraud risk by limiting unnecessary collection of Social Security numbers, and extending nondiscrimination protections so that people are not denied housing because of perceived or actual immigration status. Rep. Dodd told the committee the bill is "pro housing and pro privacy" and said it requires no state dollars; she said the measure grew from community organizations and that it has substantial sponsorship and endorsements.

Committee members asked several technical and legal questions. Lawmakers pressed staff on whether the bill defines "immigration status" and how landlords and mortgage lenders would run background or credit checks without a Social Security number. Wood said he would review whether "immigration status" is defined elsewhere in Vermont statutes and return with research; he also acknowledged he had not completed exhaustive research on federal statutes that could require verification of immigration status. The draft includes a subsection saying the bill's prohibitions "shall not preclude the verification of immigration status if required by federal law."

Committee members raised the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act as a practical example where a Social Security number has commonly been used to verify active-duty status in court or administrative proceedings; Wood said he would research whether alternative verification methods are required or permitted.

The bill text walks through amendments in multiple statutory chapters: the chapter on residential rental agreements (prohibiting requests for Social Security numbers for applications and for background/credit checks), the chapter defining harassment and public-accommodations protections, and the Unfair Housing Practices Act (adding citizenship and immigration status to the list of protected characteristics and updating several prohibitions against discrimination in advertising, terms and conditions of tenancy, financing, and land-use permitting). The draft explicitly states that protected-class provisions do not prevent required federal verification.

Committee members noted other states with similar protections: Washington and New York have added immigration status as a protected class in housing and public accommodations; Illinois and California prohibit landlord action based on immigration status; Minnesota requires landlords to accept a tax ID in place of a Social Security number; Alaska and Guam limit or require notice when collecting Social Security numbers.

No formal vote was taken; the meeting was an introductory walkthrough and not a hearing for testimony. The committee discussed scheduling and cross-committee logistics: the chair announced a planned joint hearing with the House Committee on Commerce in Room 267 at 1:00 p.m. in the future if the bill is scheduled for hearing. Wood said he would check statutes for definitions of "immigration status" and related provisions and return with that information when the bill is taken up for a formal hearing.

The session closed with committee members and supporters noting they would provide testimony and follow-up to the author and counsel prior to any hearing.