LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For the first time this session, lawmakers have overridden a veto from Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky.
A highly debated bill, House Bill 18 will become law in Kentucky. It allows landlords to deny renters using housing vouchers such as Section 8 vouchers. Critics of the override say it will lead to housing discrimination.
Mayor Craig Greenberg, D-Louisville, was in Washington for the State of the Union address when it happened. “The overriding of this veto sends us in the wrong direction,” Greenberg said. “We need help from our General Assembly to make housing more affordable and accessible in Louisville. Unfortunately, this goes in the opposite direction.”
House Bill 18 allows landlords to refuse federal housing vouchers as a form of payment, overriding city ordinances already in place in Louisville and Lexington.
Nina Moseley is the executive director of Wayside Christian Mission in Louisville. Wayside is one of the largest organizations serving the homeless community in Louisville. The organization also operates Louisville Hotel, which also serves as transitional housing. Wayside programs and services help houseless residents and families in crisis navigate the housing voucher system in the city.
“And those who are most vulnerable are the ones who generally get the vouchers for the apartments, so these who are the most neediest in assistance to get into a place to live,” Moseley said. “Most of the homeless folks don’t have a vehicle and they have to depend on the bus to go visit all of these places and try and find apartments, all different areas of town and then to finally find one, you’re not done yet. You still have to wait for the city to inspect it,” Moseley explained.
St. Vincent de Paul also provides different forms of housing for vulnerable residents. In a statement to Spectrum News 1, Chief Operations Officer Jennifer Clark said, in part: “The funding we use to house people is just as good as any other income that people may have to pay their rent. Landlords shouldn’t be allowed to discriminate. If someone can pay their rent, it shouldn’t matter where the money is coming from. Landlords can continue to evict people for rent violations and our programs provide a rental deposit to cover any damages that may happen while renting to someone using a voucher.”
House Bill 18 may lead to even more uncertainty. However, Nina Moseley says she can understand some landlord apprehension. “I can see where the landlords feel like they’re a headache. I can see where they’re afraid their property is going to be destroyed in some cases, you know these landlords may have been burnt before,” Moseley said. Supporters of the bill say landlords and property owners should have the right to choose whether they participate in a federal program like housing vouchers.