Housing advocates present testing that found source‑of‑income discrimination; board signals follow‑up

At the Sept. 13 Arlington County Board meeting, Akash Patel of the Housing Rights Initiative presented findings from fair‑housing testing conducted from mid‑April to mid‑June. The testing team posed as prospective renters using housing vouchers and documented about 30 instances of explicit discrimination that culminated in denials of housing; many of the violations were captured in recorded phone calls, Patel said.

Patel urged stronger local oversight, accountability and more education for both housing providers and voucher holders. Board members responded that fair‑housing discrimination is a longstanding issue and noted recent county investments in education to address it. Several commissioners said staff and the Human Rights Commission would weigh enforcement options, and that the county had added budget funding this year for expanded fair‑housing education. Commissioner Maureen Coffey and others said they would follow up with the housing commission and tenant‑landlord liaison.

The board also discussed the limits of federal enforcement for source‑of‑income discrimination and the role of state and local authority in addressing refusals to rent to voucher holders. Staff offered to meet with the advocacy group to view the data and consider next steps on enforcement and outreach.