“It’s About the Voucher”: Source of Income Discrimination in Rhode Island

SouthCoast Fair Housing presents new research on source of income discrimination in the Ocean State.

Rhode Island landlords may still legally discriminate against a prospective tenant solely based on where his or her income comes from. Residents who rely on Social Security, veterans benefits, child support, and rental assistance programs all risk losing out on housing, regardless of their individual qualifications and ability to pay.

SCFH’s new research report assesses discrimination rates against tenants with Housing Choice Vouchers. (Over 9,300 Rhode Island households rely on the mobile rental subsidy.) We found that while tenants with a voucher should be able to afford approximately 34% of statewide listings, discrimination narrows their actual share of housing opportunities closer to 7%. Source of income discrimination is real and pervasive in Rhode Island communities.

You can read a press release about the report here, and join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter.

You can download the report by clicking here, or by using the PDF viewer embedded below.