Unlike many states, Tennessee does not classify source of income as a protected category. Memphis landlords may legally refuse Section 8 vouchers, SSI, child support, or veterans benefits as the basis for rent without state-law liability.
Tennessee Human Rights Act (TCA 4-21) mirrors federal Fair Housing protections (race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, familial status) but stops there. Source of income, including Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, is not a protected basis at the state or municipal level in Memphis because TCA 66-35-101 preempts local rent control and most landlord regulation. Federal Fair Housing still applies: refusing vouchers in a way that disproportionately excludes Black or disabled applicants can support a disparate-impact claim under the FHA, and HUD-assisted properties tied to vouchers cannot refuse them.
Voucher refusal alone is lawful, but pretextual refusals targeting race, disability, or familial status, or refusals at HUD-funded properties, violate the federal Fair Housing Act and HUD program rules.
Memphis, TN
Memphis Housing Authority (MHA) administers federal Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers in the city. Tennessee does not bar source-of-income discrimination, so...
Memphis, TN
Memphis does not have rent control, and Tennessee state law preempts local rent control ordinances. TCA Section 66-35-102 prohibits any Tennessee municipalit...
See how Memphis's source-of-income discrimination rules stack up against other locations.
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