ARIZONA NEWS

Tempe adds source of income to anti-discrimination ordinance

Dec 12, 2023, 4:05 AM

Tempe added an amendment to its Fair Housing Code that makes it illegal to discriminate against peo...

Tempe added an amendment to its Fair Housing Code that makes it illegal to discriminate against people based on their source of income. (Pexels photo)

(Pexels photo)

PHOENIX — Tempe has updated its fair housing code to include a clause that makes it illegal to discriminate against people based on their source of income.

The Tempe City Council unanimously approved the update in November after the proposal was submitted during a prior Workforce Readiness and Livable Communities Council Committee Meeting.

Individuals that use a housing choice voucher and other forms of income cannot be denied housing under the updated amendment.

“I don’t care whether a person has cash, a check, money order, a Housing Choice Voucher, veterans’ benefits or any other source of income,” Tempe Mayor Corey Woods said in a press release.

“That is payment and no one should face discrimination or be turned away based on the form of payment. That is no longer going to take place in the City of Tempe.”

The amendment comes two years after the Tempe City Council updated its Fair Housing Code in 2021 to end race-based hair discrimination via the CROWN Act.

Berdetta Hodge, who serves on the Tempe City Council, said the update hits home for her as a former Housing Choice Voucher user.

“I’m not just someone who is a supporter on the side, I’ve lived this life,” Hodge said at the Nov. 30 council meeting.

Councilmember Randy Keating also wants to make housing more affordable to Tempe residents as the price of homes continues to rise.

“We’re securing housing for folks most affected by the housing crisis,” Keating said in the release.

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Tempe adds source of income to anti-discrimination ordinance