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Ann Arbor commissioners highlight fair-housing training, defend local source-of-income protections
Summary
At its June 10 meeting the Ann Arbor Human Rights Commission reported on fair-housing training and emphasized that the city’s source-of-income ordinance offers stronger protections than a recent state statute, including a rule that counts vouchers as tripled income for screening purposes.
A commissioner for the Ann Arbor Human Rights Commission said the commission will recommend a recently attended Fair Housing of Southeast and Mid-Michigan training to other members and praised the city’s source-of-income protections as stronger than the state statute. The commission discussed how the city ordinance requires landlords to accept vouchers and allows multiplying a voucher when calculating household income for screening.
Why it matters: Commission members said the city provision closes practical gaps that can keep voucher holders from qualifying for rentals under common landlord screening practices. The speaker contrasted the city rule — which applies to all rental units in the city and allows counting a voucher at three times its face value when calculating total household income — with the recent state statute, which applies only to landlords with five or more units.
Details: The commissioner described an example: if a household receives a $1,000 housing voucher, the city ordinance permits counting that voucher as $3,000 toward qualifying income for rent-screening calculations. The commission noted that this adjustment, written into the city ordinance, helps households with low incomes meet landlord income thresholds that otherwise might exclude them.
Legal context: The commission reported both the city and state provisions have been tested in court and that preliminary injunctions have been issued in at least one case; according to the commission’s attorney, these early judicial rulings indicate courts are examining the merits of such claims. Commissioners said the local ordinance’s broader coverage can make enforcement referrals to Fair Housing partners more effective.
Next steps: Commissioners urged colleagues to consider attending the fair-housing training when it is offered again and recommended greater outreach to landlords and the public about how the local ordinance applies to vouchers and screening. No formal vote on ordinance changes occurred at the meeting.
