US Commission on Civil Rights hears Ohio advisory report urging source-of-income protections to expand housing access

Diane Catrino, immediate past chair of the Ohio Advisory Committee, told the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights that Ohio lacks statewide protections against source-of-income housing discrimination and that the practice significantly limits where voucher holders can live. The commission received the committee’s report during its March 20, 2026 business meeting.

Catrino defined source-of-income discrimination as “the practice of denying tenant applications based on a prospective tenant’s lawful source of income,” and said the committee’s hearings and testimony showed that landlords often refuse to accept housing-choice vouchers, alimony, unemployment benefits, or other lawful non-employment income. She said vouchers—which typically cover the gap between market rent and a tenant’s payment, commonly around 30% of income—are rendered ineffective when tenants cannot find landlords who will accept them.

The report summarized testimony and data linking voucher access to long-term outcomes. Catrino cited a local health-board study describing a roughly 23-year life-expectancy gap between neighboring Cleveland-area communities, and said testimony and studies indicate that moving families into higher-opportunity neighborhoods correlates with higher college attendance and long-term earnings for children who move when young. She said evidence presented to the committee showed voucher holders are more likely to include people with disabilities and families with children, and that in some large Ohio cities a large majority of voucher holders are Black.

Witnesses told the committee that landlord reluctance to accept vouchers is often caused by administrative delays in inspection and approval processes rather than an inability to be paid; when these procedural obstacles are reduced, participation improves. The committee also heard that landlords who participate can benefit through reduced turnover, easier lease enforcement, and rent stability during economic downturns.

Based on its findings, the Ohio Advisory Committee recommended that the commission publicize the existence and harms of source-of-income discrimination; recommend Congress offer tax and other incentives to landlords who accept vouchers and expand voucher funding; urge housing authorities to streamline inspections and approvals; support pilot and education programs that include landlord perspectives; and encourage fair-housing testing to detect intentional discrimination. The committee also urged Ohio lawmakers to amend state law to add source-of-income to protected classes.

Catrino closed by noting the stakes for children: “Your zip code should not determine your life expectancy,” and asked the commission to consider adopting the report’s recommendations.

The commission’s commissioners asked questions about disparate impacts and landlord types during the meeting; Catrino confirmed the committee’s finding that multiple protected groups are affected and said the committee had no strong evidence distinguishing multi-unit from single-family unit treatment but did hear concerns from smaller landlords about administrative burdens.