Arlington subcommittee to review human‑rights code to bolster tenant protections after state action

Arlington’s subcommittee on tenant-landlord and human-rights issues met and agreed to fast‑track recommendations to revise the county’s human‑rights code to strengthen enforcement of tenant protections, citing recent state legislation and fair-housing testing results.

At the meeting, Chair opened by confirming a quorum and asking members to introduce themselves. Cara D Williams, staff liaison for the Tenant-Landlord Commission, and several commission members, including Andrew Fer, chair of the Tenant-Landlord Commission, and Ellen McBth, chair of the Housing Commission, participated.

Kellen, a member of the Housing Commission, said the group should build on work already produced by advocates and commissioners rather than starting from scratch. "The NAACP joined with Home, which is the main fair housing nonprofit for Virginia, back in December of 2024 and sent a letter outlining in pretty great detail all of the changes to the human rights ordinance that they believe should be made," Kellen said, noting that the subcommittee could refine that document.

Kellen also raised recent state action: "I also wanted to bring up HB14 that was passed earlier this year and signed by the governor, which gives localities the authority to enforce violations of the landlord-tenant act," he said, adding that the county expects a July 1 effective date and that staff are discussing draft ordinances with the county liaison.

Members emphasized the need to clarify which county office will carry out enforcement once HB14 takes effect. Kellen asked whether enforcement would proceed through the Office of Human Rights’ complaint process or through the Department of Community Planning and Housing (CPHD). A staff speaker said discussions with the county liaison are underway and requested that commissioners forward recommendations to Cara D Williams so staff can coordinate drafting.

Commissioners discussed bringing nonprofit partners to future meetings. The Equal Rights Center, which the group said holds a county contract to perform annual fair‑housing testing beginning in 2024, was identified as a key presenter. Meeting participants described the testing method—sending paired testers of different backgrounds to the same property—and said prior rounds found "pretty high levels of discrimination." Sarah Lanford, a member of the Tenant-Landlord Commission, said the recent testing covered disability, familial status, national origin and source of funds and recommended rotating the categories tested over time to expand coverage.

Speakers noted the testing program’s modest cost and the budgetary limits on expanding it. "The line item in the budget is only like $50k," Kellen said, arguing periodic testing across different protected classes could be affordable and would signal that discrimination will be monitored and enforced.

For next steps, the subcommittee set internal deadlines: members should submit questions for the county manager’s office by June 30; the next meeting will be virtual on July 8 and is expected to include county manager’s office staff and the Office of Human Rights; and the group aims to finalize recommendations by October so the Tenant‑Landlord Commission can consider them in November before forwarding to the County Board.

The meeting adjourned with the Chair thanking members for their participation and confirming plans to invite the Equal Rights Center and the nonprofit referenced as "Home of VA" to future sessions.