Pittsburgh seeks to ban discrimination over past homelessness

A measure introduced Tuesday to Pittsburgh City Council would prohibit landlords from discriminating against people who have been homeless or have information on their housing record that might be viewed as a problem.

Rachel Shepherd, executive director of the city’s Commission on Human Relations, said the goal is to ensure people’s housing status and history don’t hinder their ability to rent or buy a place to live.

“Anyone could become homeless any period in their life,” Shepherd said. “That’s not a reason to judge someone’s ability to be a good tenant in the present.”

The bill would ban discrimination against those who have lived in shelters or on the streets, people who have never rented before, people who have lived in public housing and people moving out of medical facilities, student housing or accommodations with family.

Some landlords will refuse to rent to people with such housing backgrounds or will charge additional fees because of it, Shepherd said.

The legislation before council would prohibit that. People who feel they are being discriminated against would be able to seek assistance from the commission.

The protections would extend to people “who are otherwise fully qualified to be a tenant,” Shepherd said.

“We want landlords to be able to see people as people, give them that opportunity, because housing really stabilizes folks,” she said.

Maddy McGrady, co-chair of the Pittsburgh Housing Justice Table, said she supported the measure, which would bolster housing security for people who have been homeless.

“What it will do is make it harder to discriminate against someone on the basis of their present or past housing history when leasing or selling,” she said. “Housing is a basic need. It’s a human right.”

But people who have experienced housing instability could still be hindered by other factors beyond discrimination based solely on their housing status. A lack of credit history, for example, could still be used to deny a lease or home purchase.

“I think overarchingly we need to be strengthening protections for tenants’ rights,” McGrady said.

Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration worked with the Commission on Human Relations to craft the bill, his spokeswoman Olga George said.

“This is a foundational step toward supporting our formerly unhoused neighbors, and the mayor is fully supportive of the effort,” George said in a statement.

Pittsburgh has similar protections to ban housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, place of birth, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, familial status, handicap, disability, use of support animals, status as a victim of domestic violence, citizenship, immigration status, preferred language and cultural hairstyles.