Discrimination: housing: credit history of persons receiving housing subsidies.

Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) , prohibits various forms of housing discrimination, including prohibiting the owner of a housing accommodation from discriminating against or harassing a person because of specified characteristics, including source of income, as defined, and establishes the Department of Fair Employment and Housing to administer and enforce those provisions. Existing law prohibits, in instances where there is a government rent subsidy, the use of a financial or income standard in assessing eligibility for the rental of housing that is not based on the portion of the rent to be paid by the tenant. This bill would prohibit the use of a person's credit history as part of the application process for a rental housing accommodation without offering the applicant the option of providing alternative evidence of financial responsibility and ability to pay as the applicant may choose to submit in instances where there is a government rent subsidy. The bill would require the housing provider to consider that alternative evidence in lieu of the person's credit history when determining whether to offer the rental accommodation to the applicant.