Since 1983, Habitat Charlotte has strived to ensure everyone in our community has a safe and decent place to live. Our organization has adapted to meet the changing needs of our community, while identifying and advocating for housing issues that address housing affordability in our city.
After months of preparation, research, collaboration, Habitat Charlotte seeks your support for our latest advocacy initiative.
Source of Income Discrimination (SOID) is any instance where a housing provider refuses payment for housing from any legal form of monetary payment. These monetary sources include child support, disability checks, VA benefits, bequests, life insurance policies, and any rent assistance programs provided by the government or non-profit organizations to name a few. This unfair practice prevents countless numbers of Charlotte families from obtaining secure housing.
Habitat Charlotte writes to let you know a growing coalition of 19 organizations, including Habitat Charlotte, are working to address SOID in Charlotte. For our homeownership market to flourish, we first must first solidify and stabilize Charlotte’s rental market. When qualifying for a mortgage, all household income sources are considered, yet when applying for a lease, the same cannot be said. This illustrates the stark reality that a renter deferred is a future homeowner denied.
Habitat Charlotte also asks you to support this initiative. The first step is to ask you to thoughtfully consider signing their letter of support. The link to the letter can be found here. This coalition plans to present these signed letters to the members of Charlotte City Council as they work with them to amend our city’s Fair Housing Ordinance to include protections for Source of Income.
We cannot thank you enough for your support of our work and look forward to walking with you on this bold and exciting journey. If you have any further questions or ideas, please feel free to reach out to Ryan Carter (rcarter@habitatcharlotte.org).
