Council committee advances ordinance to add past or present housing status to city civil-rights code

Pittsburgh City Council's Human Resources Committee on Monday advanced an ordinance to add past or present housing status to the city's fair-housing protections, giving the measure an affirmative recommendation after roughly an hour of testimony and questions.

Advocates and staff told the committee the change would bar landlords from using gaps in rental histories or a recent stay in shelter, transitional housing or couch-surfing as a basis for rejecting applicants. Rachel Shepherd, executive director of the Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations, said the addition would cover "current or former housing status," including time spent without a fixed residence.

The Commission on Human Relations framed the proposal as a limited, practical step rather than an expansion of housing entitlements. "I want to be very clear. This is not source of income protection. This is not, any kind of established right to housing," Shepherd said. Christopher Sold, deputy director for the commission, told…