housing

San Jose City Council Supports Ordinance Limiting Section 8 Housing Discrimination

news_blog_thumbnailProtections.jpg


On Tuesday, December 11, San Jose City Council voted to support a number of tenant protections that will improve the lives of low-income and working-class families in their search for affordable housing. The Law Foundation Housing Team and attorneys have been diligently following these issues and advocating strongly on behalf of our most vulnerable communities. A number of our attorneys represented the Law Foundation at the City Council meeting and spoke in support of the following protections that passed:

  1. Prohibiting Source of Income Discrimination – Direct San Jose Housing Department Staff to bring back an ordinance preventing landlords from refusing to accept subsidies, such as Section 8 vouchers. Read more.

  2. Commercial Linkage Fee - This would require a study related to what fees are viable on commercial development that could be used for affordable housing.

  3. Added protections to the Tenant Protection Ordinance that include protections for domestic violence survivors, requiring notices about rent assistance, requiring postings related to immigration status, and allowing a person not convicted of a crime to move back in with family.

In Case You Missed It

It's here! Law Foundation Supervising Attorney, Nadia Aziz, and Buena Vista Resident Association member, Maria Martinez, spoke to Silicon Valley Community Foundation Program Officer Vu-Bang Nguyen a few months ago about what it was like to save a small, low-income community in Palo Alto and what other communities can learn from the experience.

Click here to listen to SVCF Philanthropy Now's episode on Buena Vista Mobile Home Park.