I submit the following comment on behalf of the Charlottesville Office of Human Rights, which upholds the Charlottesville Human Rights Ordinance, including protections against housing discrimination on the basis of source of funds. The Office of Human Rights supports the approval of the guidance document, as written.

I am specifically in support of the provision requiring minimum income calculations to be based on the voucher holder’s portion of the rent. If a landlord’s minimum income requirement calculations for voucher holders are based on the full market rent rather than the voucher holder’s portion of the rent, there is a possibility of systemic exclusion of voucher holders, especially when the landlord’s minimum income threshold is three times the full market rent.

For example, IF the voucher payment standard, utility allowance, and calculated tenant rent burden would qualify a voucher holder to rent a hypothetical unit at the full market rent:

1. Market Rent (MR) of hypothetical unit: $1,000
2. 1BR voucher payment standard (PS): $1,082
3. Hypothetical Utility Allowance (UA) for 1BR unit with 2 exposed walls and electric utilities: $105
4. Gross Rent (GR) = (MR + UA): $1,105
5. Overage (PS – GR): $23
6. Voucher holder Monthly Income (MI): $800
7. Voucher holder portion of rent (30% x MI): $240
8. HUD allowable tenant rent burden (40% x MI): $320
9. Voucher holder rent burden (portion of rent + overage): $263
10. Is the voucher holder rent burden within the HUD allowable rent burden?
1. $263 (rent burden) < $320 (allowable rent burden) = YES

BUT, if the minimum income requirement is based on a multiple of three times the market rent (rather than the voucher holder’s portion of the rent), resulting in an income requirement that is higher than HUD’s maximum income threshold permissible for voucher eligibility, THEN the voucher holder will be systematically excluded from renting the unit.

11. Individual maximum annual income for Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) eligibility: $32,900  (per HUD guidelines)   

1. HCV individual maximum monthly income (annual income / 12): $2,741.67
2. Hypothetical voucher holder’s gross Monthly Income (MI): $800

12. Landlord’s minimum income requirement is 3x the market rent (3 x $1,000): $3,000

1. Landlord’s minimum income requirement systematically excludes all individual voucher holders, as the income requirement exceeds HUD’s maximum income threshold for HCV eligibility.
1. $3,000 (landlord requirement) > $2,741.67 (maximum monthly income for HCV eligibility)
2. Landlord’s minimum income requirement obviously excludes the hypothetical tenant in this example, IF compared against the tenant’s gross monthly income.
1. $3,000 (landlord requirement) > $800 (tenant gross monthly income)
3. Landlord’s minimum income requirement also excludes the hypothetical tenant in this example, EVEN IF compared against the tenant’s gross monthly income (MI) + voucher payment standard (PS).
1. $3,000 (landlord requirement) > $2,082 ($800 MI + $1,082 PS)
4. Landlord’s minimum income requirement does not exclude the hypothetical tenant in this example ONLY IF the minimum income requirement is calculated using the voucher-holder’s portion of the rent, when compared to the tenant’s gross monthly income.
1. $720 (3 x voucher-holder portion of rent) < $800 (tenant’s gross monthly income)

Calculating the minimum income requirement using the full market rent, rather that the tenant’s portion of the rent, especially when the minimum income requirement is three times the monthly rent, systematically excludes all voucher holders, discriminates against voucher holders on the basis of source of funds, and is therefore a violation of state law.