One More Entrance Screen for the Low-Income Housing Population: Credit Reports


October 21, 2005

One More Entrance Screen for the Low-Income Housing Population: Credit Reports


(Chicago)-- Are credit reports a thinly veiled form of discrimination in subsidized housing? Are they a
cover for exclusionary motives that violate fair housing laws? Housing attorneys and lawmakers and
advocates intent on preserving low-income housing and protecting residents of subsidized housing have a
vested interest in the latest issue of the Clearinghouse Review. "The lack of clear federal regulations
governing how or whether to evaluate housing applicants credit means that excluding applicants on the
basis of credit scores may be arbitrary or unreasonable," writes Maeve Elise Brown, author of this issue's
lead article, "A Stacked Deck." Whether defending low-income renters through litigation or advancing
housing policies at the state or federal level, advocates and policy makers need to understand how credit
is used as a means to exclude the very low-income people whom subsidized housing programs are
designed to help.

In addition to new analyses on credit reports and screening criteria for subsidized housing, this edition of
Clearinghouse Review: Journal of Poverty Law and Policy includes an overview of the permissible
grounds for eviction, new guidance to assist housing providers in accommodating the needs of persons
with disabilities in the Section 8 program, and state flexibility in filing food stamp claims. This issue
features a series of articles and advocacy strategies including:

"A Stacked Deck--How Credit Is Used to Screen Out Those Most in Need
of Federally Subsidized Housing" by Maeve Elise Brown
"Defending Against Eviction from Public and Federally Subsidized
Housing" by Fred Fuchs
"New HUD Guidance Accommodating People with Disabilities in the
Section 8 Program" by Fred Nisen
"Remembering Ed V. Sparer: An Enduring Vision for Legal Services" by
Gary F. Smith
"Tenant-Screening Agencies Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act" by
Anthony Rodriguez
"California Perspectives on Tenant-Screening Agencies" by David Pallack
"Encouraging Moderation in State Policies on Collecting Food Stamp
Claims" by David A. Super

If you would like to schedule an interview with a legal editor or staff attorney, please contact Rikeesha
Cannon at 312.368.2677. For more information on how your can subscribe to Clearinghouse Review and
other Shriver Center publications, please visit our website at www.povertylaw.org
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Published bimonthly, the Clearinghouse Review is an advocate's best resource for information on
developments in poverty law. Each issue of the Review features in-depth, analytical articles, written by experts in
their fields, on topics of interest to poor people's and public interest lawyers. Substantive areas covered include civil
rights, family law, disability, domestic violence, housing, elder law, employment, health, and welfare reform. The
Review also features abstracts of poverty law cases being litigated by legal aid advocates across the country.
Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
50 E. Washington Street, Suite 500, Chicago, Illinois 60602 312.263.3830 Fax: 312.263.3846 www.povertylaw.org