California landlord-tenant law prohibits refusing tenants solely because they use Section 8 vouchers. Landlords must offer alternatives to credit checks, like accepting verifiable lawful income documentation, or face source-of-income discrimination charges.
As a landlord, if someone comes and says, I want to use my Section 8 voucher, you have the right to say, no, I don't want to be in business with the American government. That's my right. I don't want to have— I don't want to sign that contract. In California, that's called discrimination. It's called source of income discrimination. You cannot say no to someone just because they're coming to you with Section 8. On top of that, if someone comes with Section 8, you have to offer them the right, the option of, instead of checking their credit, letting them provide you with verifiable means of legal income.
