Landlords, advocates split over bill barring discrimination against renters on public assistance

Mainers receiving public assistance can often wait years for an apartment to open up. In an effort to alleviate that backlog and address what many see as economic discrimination in Maine’s housing sector, lawmakers are considering a bill that would prohibit landlords from refusing to rent to tenants solely because they rely on programs such as general assistance or housing vouchers. 

Supporters say it’s a crucial step to prevent income discrimination, especially given Maine’s lack of affordable housing. Opponents of the bill, however, said the issue is not about discrimination, but about whether landlords should be forced to accept additional terms imposed by voucher programs.

The bill, LD 1036, was heard by the Legislature’s Housing Committee on Tuesday. Sponsor, Rep. Ambureen Rana (D-Bangor) said the wait list for subsidized housing in Maine can range from 14 to 28 months, and in some cases, people wait several years. 

“Discrimination should not be an added hindrance on top of price, location, safety and availability,” she said.

While Maine law technically already prohibits discrimination against people who use public assistance for housing, advocates say those protections were significantly weakened by a 2014 law court interpretation. Andrea Steward, a policy advocate with Maine Equal Justice, explained during the public hearing Tuesday that the ruling left a loophole.

Public assistance cannot be discriminated against as a source of income, but it allows landlords to refuse signing on to the requirements of the program, whether that’s a municipality or federal Section 8 requirements, Steward said in her testimony. Because of that legal interpretation, landlords can currently refuse to accept tenants who pay rent using public assistance just because they don’t want to sign certain paperwork.

This proposal wouldn’t prevent landlords from conducting standard tenant screenings, such as calling references, checking eviction records or whether one’s  general assistance or federal housing voucher would cover the rent, Steward said.

“So it still makes all of those arguments legitimate, that a landlord can look at all of those factors in order to make a determination,” she said. “They just can’t make a blanket statement that says ‘You have Section 8. I don’t want to sign this document, and so therefore I’m not going to rent to you.’”

Rep. Cheryl Golek (D-Harpswell), a co-sponsor of the bill, called source-of-income discrimination “an urgent injustice.” She also shared her own personal experience as a single parent relying on Section 8 housing and general assistance and being denied housing.

“I was often bluntly told, ‘Sorry, we don’t rent to you people. Give me a call when you stop being lazy,” Golek said.

“Being able to pay rent is life-saving. It should not matter where a person’s source of income comes from that they use to pay their rent.”

Golek also noted that source-of-income discrimination disproportionately harms marginalized populations, referencing a 2022 study from the Maine State Housing Authority which found that Black Mainers made up 34% of the state’s homeless population, despite representing less than 2% of the general population at the time.

Dan Bernier, representing the Central Maine Apartment Owners Association, testified against the proposal, saying Maine law already prohibits landlords from treating voucher holders differently than other tenants. 

“Maine law is clear. You cannot discriminate,” Bernier said. “You have to offer housing for somebody holding a voucher on the same terms you would offer to anyone else.”

But he said under the current legal interpretation, landlords don’t have to accept the terms set by the government agency providing the public assistance, which can include a rent amount.

Landlords shouldn’t be compelled to agree to any government-imposed conditions that often come with vouchers, such as limits on rent increases, changes to lease terms, or alterations to the eviction process, he said.