Q
I am a widow who inherited a significant sum when my husband died, a result of the sale of our house and life insurance. I need to move and I decided to rent rather than buy a new house. I found a lovely apartment and submitted an application, but the rental agent rejected it out of hand, saying that I have no evidence of regular income. This is true, because I don’t need to work thanks to the inheritance, and I am too young to receive Social Security or pension benefits. I have sufficient money in the bank and my investment accounts to pay any reasonable rent for a number of years, but when I explained my finances to the rental agent, he insisted that I must have proof of current income to rent the apartment. What am I supposed to do?
A
Under California Fair Housing laws, it is illegal for a housing provider to refuse to rent to an applicant because of the source of the applicant’s income, so long as the rental applicant can prove financial ability to pay the rent. Here, the rental agent’s rejection of your rental because you do not have current employment income appears to violate these laws. This law is intended to protect people who are retired, disabled, or living on government benefits from being discriminated against because their income comes from sources other than a job. The alternative income source has to be reliable, however, and the amount of the income still must meet the landlord’s minimum income standards. To increase your chances of obtaining a rental, you may consider offering to show a prospective landlord your credit report, bank statements, government benefit stubs or other income verification, prior rental references, or offer to pay the maximum security deposit allowable by law. If you are still refused a rental based on your lack of current employment income, you have the option of contacting a fair housing agency to ask for an investigation, or you may file a housing discrimination complaint with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing.
Project Sentinel provides landlord-tenant dispute resolution and fair-housing services in Northern California, including rental housing mediation programs in Mountain View, Los Altos and Palo Alto. Call 650-856-4062 for dispute resolution or 650-321-6291 for fair housing, email info@housing.org or visit housing.org.
