Bills to forbid Michigan landlords from refusing to lease apartments to people based on their source of income to pay the rent are on their way to Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The Michigan Senate held final votes Thursday on the bills.
The measures would apply to landlords with five or more rental units and would cover public assistance and federal housing vouchers. Complaints would be investigated by the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.
“Many folks are struggling to find adequate and affordable housing these days, and these bills would make it easier for folks who are either low income and relying upon a voucher, or if they’ve got maybe income from child support or veterans’ services, those types of incomes would have to be treated the same as other types of income,” said Sen. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor), one of the bill sponsors.
The bills were adopted on party-line votes. Republicans argued the legislation would result in landlords with mid-size rental properties pulling out of the market as there is a need for affordable housing.
“I think it’s destructive to the people out there who are barely getting by who need more housing, not less, and this is going to create less people wanting to go into rental housing,” said Sen. Jim Runestad (R-White Lake). He said the bills would also make it too hard for landlords to screen out applicants with criminal histories.
Doug Marcum with the Property Management Association of Michigan, an industry group, said the legislation does not address the federal housing voucher program’s rigid inspection rules and payment schedules. He said small rental property owners would be exempt from the bills and large property companies can manage, but mid-size landlords will be in a bind if they have to leave apartments vacant.
“If it were refined, updated, changed to eliminate some of this red tape and challenges,” Marcum said, “I think you would see a lot more owners and management companies that would welcome the voucher program.”
