Source of income discrimination by landlords prohibited.
Summary
HF2021 would amend Minnesota’s Human Rights Act to prohibit landlords from discriminating against current or prospective tenants based on their use of rental assistance. The bill specifically covers federal, state, or local government rental assistance, housing choice vouchers, and other public assistance that helps pay rent. It bars landlords from refusing to show a unit, refusing to accept an application, denying a rental opportunity, or otherwise treating an applicant or tenant differently because they use these benefits.
The bill also prohibits landlords from advertising that they will not rent to people who use rental assistance or vouchers. In practical terms, it would make “source of income” a protected category in housing, at least as it relates to rental assistance and voucher programs, and would add this protection to Minnesota Statutes section 363A.09.
Impact
If enacted, HF2021 would expand Minnesota’s housing discrimination law by adding a new protected basis tied to source of income in the rental market. It would create a legal prohibition on landlords’ refusal to rent, show units, accept applications, or advertise exclusions against tenants who rely on public rental assistance, and it would give affected renters a statutory basis to challenge discriminatory housing practices under the state’s civil rights framework.
Sentiment
The available record shows the bill was introduced and referred to the House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee, but there are no committee transcripts or recorded votes provided here. Based on the bill’s purpose and caption, the measure appears to be a tenant-protection and fair-housing bill aimed at reducing barriers for voucher holders and other assisted renters, with no documented opposition or support in the supplied materials.
Contention
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided transcripts or voting history. In general, bills of this type can raise concerns among landlords about property-management discretion, administrative burden, or tenant screening practices, while supporters typically argue that source-of-income discrimination limits access to housing and undermines the effectiveness of rental assistance programs. However, those arguments are not directly reflected in the materials supplied for HF2021.