Law: Must Not Say "I do not accept Section 8," and pot smoking is illegal
/At the same time the Section 8 source of income law was signed in Michigan, I learned there is another law that voucher holders cannot smoke marijuana, medical or otherwise, in federally subsidized housing. If a Section 8 inspector finds paraphernalia or grow equipment on the property, the tenant risks losing their voucher. So for the landlords who don’t want a Section 8 tenant, I’m wondering if they can deny the applicant based on the fact they stink like pot so that tenant is not a good bet at being a long-term tenant. I don’t know! I’m not a lawyer and I don’t work for Fair Housing.
Source of Income Law: SB0205
It’s important to know that this law is based on discriminating against the source of income. Landlords cannot tell tenants that their subsidy from Section 8 cannot be counted toward the landlord’s income requirement.
I foresee landlords denying tenants on other aspects that are not a protected class.
The landlord may not accept making the repairs a Section 8 inspector requests.
The landlord may need first month’s rent on move-in day. That is not something Section 8 will provide.
The landlord may need to know the exact amount that is subsidized. In Detroit we are not told that exact number until after the house passes the inspection. I think this is ridiculous and a landlord doesn’t stand a chance with this one. Whatever Section 8 finds the tenant can afford is better than any background check we are able to do.
The landlord may require the tenant to move in within a certain amount of time after acceptance. Section 8 can be very unpredictable when they do inspections.
A landlord may refuse to sign the Section 8 HAP contract. Without signing it, the landlord will never receive the subsidy portion of rent from Section 8.
The landlord may tell the applicant, “Yes, I accept your Section 8 as a source of income, but being a federally subsidized property, I will report any Schedule 1 substance usage I find at my property including marijuana.”
I’m sure there are other ways landlords are going to refuse Section 8 tenants anyway. The landlord in Michigan can no longer state, “I don’t accept Section 8.” I can see landlords saying, “Yes, I accept your Section 8 source of income, but…”.
The landlord may have a credit score requirement that most people on Section 8 do not have. I have heard at a Fair Housing class that Fair Housing feels using a flat credit score is discriminatory against people who have had a rougher time; such as people with addictions, even alcoholism. I don’t know if they’ve made it a law or they are trying to encourage landlords to enforce equity.
I just know that to avoid a Fair Housing violation, we have to treat everyone the same. We have to prove that the person we did accept actually has that credit score, could move in on the required date, had the first month’s rent in full, etc.
I wonder if someone will use one of these buts someday and be brought up on a Fair Housing violation anyway. I’m not a lawyer. I don’t know.
I personally wish landlords would give Section 8 applicants a fair chance. I find the best way to know if they will be good tenants is to see how they are living in their current home before they move into my home. And that applies to cash tenants as well. I’ve heard this is illegal in California. But California has all kinds of laws that make no sense!
Fourth Amendment: Can We Refuse an Inspection Without a Warrant?
Link to article about Flint Landlord’s Fight
Marijuana in Federally Subsidized Housing
My initial reaction to seeing what Detroit Housing Commission’s applicants have to sign was, “Well, how do they enforce that?” It’s so obvious to me that they do not. Almost all our rentals reek of marijuana. The DHC’s lobby reeks of it too. Then after I filmed my video (in a cemetary with a view of a pond — I’m tired of my driveway!), I spoke to a past Section 8 director. She said it absolutely is enforced. It’s the inspectors who go in and see the paraphernalia or grow equipment and report it to the housing commission. When I searched on ChatGPT about cases, it said these kind of cases aren’t compiled in a way it could let me know how often it happens.
My thought is if a Section 8 participant is giving the Public Housing Authority (PHA) a hard time, it would be SO EASY to send the inspector in to get proof of marijuana so the PHA could remove that participant. I know the workers there feel for the good participants and I’m sure they know how many other applicants are out there who truly need a voucher.
The past director also told me that landlords can request special inspections. Maybe if we want to get rid of a difficult Section 8 participant we can call for that inspection and specifically state marijuana usage. Then the tenant will leave without knowing we did it to them. No more worrying about vengeful tenants. I will have to dig deeper into that subject. If I get something juicy, you know I’ll make you a video!
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