Vouching for Equality: An Evaluation of Section 8 Source of Income Legislation Following the Subprime Credit Crisis

Abstract

The United States is currently in the midst of a major affordable housing shortage, exacerbated by the fact that many of the people who receive federal housing assistance are not able to use it. In contrast to food and health, housing is the one fundamental human need that the United States has never been able to provide to all of its citizens. Moreover, federal policies throughout the twentieth century failed to protect low-income and minority citizens in their pursuit of fair housing, thereby fueling residential segregation and concentrated poverty. Section 8 is currently the largest affordable housing program, providing vouchers to low-income renters eligible for usage on the private rental market. Yet administrative complexities and discriminatory landlords have diminished the potential effectiveness of the program. In recent years, jurisdictions and states have begun enacting Source of Income (SOI) legislation, barring landlord discrimination against Section 8 voucher holders. Freeman 2011 found that, on the local level, SOI legislation increased voucher utilization amongst Section 8 recipients. This thesis examines the effectiveness of statewide SOI legislation following the recession. I find that the recession had a negative impact on the effectiveness of vouchers and that statewide SOI legislation does not improve voucher utilization. Though I do find that the recession had a positive impact on the percentage of single-family homes within census tracts of Section 8 recipients, but SOI legislation mitigated this impact.