El Paso landlords are not required to accept Section 8 vouchers, SSI, VA Aid and Attendance, or other government rental assistance. Texas Local Government Code Section 250.007 expressly preempts cities from enacting source-of-income protections.
Texas in 2015 passed Local Government Code Section 250.007, which prohibits cities and counties from requiring landlords to accept Housing Choice Vouchers or other federal rental subsidies. The law was passed specifically to override Austin's source-of-income ordinance. As a result, El Paso has no authority to mandate voucher acceptance, even though the El Paso Housing Authority administers thousands of vouchers across the metro. Landlords still cannot refuse a tenant based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or familial status under the federal Fair Housing Act, but voucher status alone is not protected.
There is no city-level violation for refusing vouchers. Federal Fair Housing protections still apply, and proven race, disability, or familial-status discrimination remains actionable through HUD and the TWC Civil Rights Division.
See how El Paso's source-of-income discrimination rules stack up against other locations.
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