Pearl

City: 
Paso Robles

I volunteer to help homeless disabled find housing. In SLO County, all the subsidized housing projects have waiting lists years long, and the overwhelming majority of private landlords and property managemewnt companies refuse to accept Sec. 8, even thos who used to accept it a few years ago. Some states have a law requiring all landlords to accept Sec, 8, but CA does not. CA has a law requiring non-discrimination on the bais of income, but the state dept. ruled that "income" only includes income paid directly to the tenant, not Sec. 8, which is in-kind income paid to the landlord. This is ridiculous and makes the law meaningless. It needs to be changed. I wrote to my county Bd. of Supervisors at the request of one of them, laying this out and requesting that they use the assn. of county governments to get the ruling changed. This would benefit counties by relieving the burden of homelessness to the county and local non-profits (shelters), and progress on their Plan to End Homelessness would get the counties more housing funds. See also the case of Sifa vs. Donald Sterling, when the infamous slumloard and former NBA owner refused to accept the sec. 8 voucher of his recently widowed tenant who was disabled and could not afford to pay rent without her husband's income. 2010. Absurd reasoning in the decision. CA Appellate Ct. said he could do it, and thus evict the tenant for nonpayment of rent and held Sterling was "not interfering with her enjoyment of the apt.".

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