Madison's Housing Committee put its stamp of approval Wednesday on the Madison Equal Opportunities Commission's proposal of prohibiting housing discrimination based on the status of tenants as recipients of rental assistance.
According to Ald. Tom Jarrell, District 8, vouchers are available under the federal Section 8 program to help low income families, senior citizens and disabled individuals find housing away from pockets of poverty. The program is administered by the city through the Community Development Authority.
\The general principle is for [eligible recipients] to go out in the open market and have the voucher pay a percentage of the rent,"" he said.
But according to the MEOC, an alarming number of Madison landlords are denying Section 8 vouchers and thus denying recipients tenancy.
Jarrell said only about 12 percent of Madison landlords accept the vouchers.
""It's sad, the number of landlords here that reject vouchers, even though it's guaranteed money from the government,"" said Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4.
Madison resident Austin King argued during public testimony that Section 8 vouchers should be considered a source of income, which is not a basis that landlords can withhold tenancy on.
""It shouldn't matter where a person's money comes from and this discrimination never should've happened,"" he said.
However, according to committee member Tripp Widder, landlords reject Section 8 vouchers because of the extra paperwork and hidden stipulations found in the lease addendum required by the city's Department of Housing and Urban Development.
""If Section 8 were just a voucher, it wouldn't be a problem, but because it requires much more effort to process it becomes problematic,"" he said.
Sponsored by Ald. Brenda Konkel, District 2, the measure was first introduced at the city level in May of 1997. Its momentum was halted in February of 1999 when Mayor Bauman abstained from voting on a tie-breaker in the City Council.
""We wouldn't be here today fighting for equality were it not for the utter lack of leadership from the mayor's office,"" King said.
The MEOC will debate the measure approved by the Housing Committee on Feb. 14, where Konkel expects the measure to move quickly to the City Council.
The Housing Committee also passed a measure ensuring Madison residents receive a written explanation from their landlords justifying their denial of tenancy and another measure requiring landlords to provide tenants a list of their rights and responsibilities upon signing a lease.
