Vt. Human Rights Comm'n, HV19-0018, Investigative Report & Reasonable Grounds Determination

Citation
Vt. Human Rights Comm'n, HV19-0018, Investigative Report & Reasonable Grounds Determination
Jurisdiction
Vermont (state)
Source
Official source
Original Source
https://hrc.vermont.gov/sites/hrc/files/HV19-0018%20redacted%20IR%20&%20RG%20... ↗

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Mr. Deery's statements are direct evidence that he refused to continue to rent to Ms. Weygant
because she is a recipient of public assistance. Mr. Deery stated in his response, "I told Ms.
Weygant...I was no longer accepting Section 3.r:136 In Mr. Deery's interview, he conhrmed that
he.told Ms. Weygant he would no longer be accepting Section 8 voucher payments and stated
that Section 8 was "one of the reasons" that he asked Ms. Weygant to leave.l37

The federal Fair Housing Act does not.bar discrimination based on being a recipient of public
assistance, but Vermont is one of several states that prohibit discrimination based on being a
recipient of public assistance.l3s The VFHPAA states that it is unlawful to refuse to rent to
someone because a person is a recipient of public assistance. Although Vermont has yet to
specifically review public assistance discrimination in housing, several states have considered
circumstances under which a landlord may lawfully choose not to accept Section 8 vouchers.l3e
These are discussed below. The cases from jurisdictions other than Vermont are not intended to
be authoritative but can act as guidance to help determine what Vermont would do.