Tenant screening and section 8

[Zach Snyder]

Hello everyone, I am new to BP and overall new to Real estate onvesting and tenant screening. I own one duplex, but have always had my tenant. I am assisting my parents with there first rental property and helping them screen tenants. I have been aske many times about section 8 and whether we accept them or not. I have spent some time looking for the answer of whether someone can be denied for this or not. For Pennsylvania that answer seems to be unclear and if anyone xan shed some light it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Zach s.

[Ellen Morrison]

Hey Zach, welcome to BP :-)

Some cities and states prohibit housing discrimination based on "source of income".

Page 63 references Pittsburgh: 

https://www.prrac.org/pdf/AppendixB.pdf

Personally, I would not put anything in writing that says they are denied due to having a voucher as their source of income. You may want to consult an attorney on how to handle that. 

I work in affordable housing and have over 120 units receiving subsidy payments. There are pros and cons. Feel free to reach out if you have any interest in accepting the voucher, I can tell you more about it :-)