Credit Screenings: The Hidden Barrier to Housing for Renters with Vouchers 

By: Lucas Golluber
May 13, 2026

Housing vouchers are designed to help low-income individuals and families access stable housing in neighborhoods of opportunity that they would otherwise not be able to afford. Vouchers help to prevent homelessness and can play a critical role in reversing historical patterns of segregation. Thirteen states and Washington, D.C., have passed source of income protections, making it illegal for housing providers to discriminate based on how a household pays their rent, such as by using a voucher. These legal protections are key to ensuring that renters with vouchers can achieve housing stability.

However, even in places with source of income protections, credit screenings remain a profound barrier preventing voucher holders from obtaining housing. Low-income communities of color have historically been denied equal access to credit-building opportunities. As a result, people with low incomes, including renters with vouchers, are more likely to have low or no credit. When voucher holders are denied housing for credit-related reasons, it frustrates the voucher program’s goal of providing secure housing in neighborhoods of opportunity to individuals and families who would otherwise be unable to afford it.

Additionally, credit history is not a relevant predictor of a voucher holder’s ability to pay rent. Housing voucher programs are designed to account for participants’ incomes to ensure they are not forced to pay more than they can afford for rent. In some cases, the voucher even covers the entirety of the tenant’s rent. In theory, credit screenings are designed to ensure a prospective tenant will consistently pay the monthly rent, but these safeguards are already built into housing voucher programs.

D.C. addressed the issue of discriminatory credit screenings for voucher holders by passing legislation in 2022. The Eviction Record Sealing and Fairness in Renting Amendment Act (ERSAFRAA) prohibits housing providers from rejecting renters with vouchers based on:

• A low credit score or lack of a credit score,
• Credit issues that occurred before that person first received their voucher, or
• Nonpayment or late payment of rent that occurred prior to when that person first received their voucher.

If the voucher covers the entirety of the rent and the renter does not contribute any portion, housing providers are likely prohibited from rejecting them for any credit-related reason. These restrictions ensure that housing providers cannot skirt the District’s source of income protections by rejecting renters with vouchers based on credit information that is ultimately irrelevant to their ability to pay rent.

These protections make a real difference for renters with vouchers in D.C. For example, in 2024, an ERC client, Ms. H, applied to rent a rowhome in Southeast D.C. for her family. She informed the landlord she had a housing voucher, but was rejected due to her low credit score, even though D.C. law prohibits landlords from rejecting applicants with housing vouchers on that basis. Because of the District’s protections, ERC staff were able to help Ms. H file a discrimination complaint with the D.C. Office of Human Rights and reach a settlement in which the real estate company paid Ms. H $17,000. The company also agreed to implement a non-discrimination policy and have the agent complete fair housing training.

Ms. H’s case is not unique. In 2024, the ERC received dozens of complaints from D.C. renters with vouchers who alleged being unlawfully rejected from a property based on their credit. ERSAFRAA’s additional source of income protections are key to ensuring the voucher program works as intended and low-income renters can secure housing, but it must be backed up with vigorous enforcement to be effective.

Legislation like ERSAFRAA that addresses some of the more pernicious barriers facing applicants with housing vouchers is essential to tackling the systemic marginalization of low-income renters. In places without these protections, irrelevant credit information too often prevents qualified applicants with vouchers from accessing stable housing. Restrictions on the use of credit screenings are key to achieving more equitable housing access for all members of the community. In places where these protections do exist, they must be backed up by education campaigns to ensure renters know their rights and housing providers know their obligations, and by a robust enforcement mechanism. Only then will renters with housing vouchers have the fair shot at housing they were promised.

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The ERC is a civil rights organization that identifies and seeks to eliminate unlawful and unfair discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations in its home community of Greater Washington DC and nationwide. The ERC’s core strategy for identifying unlawful and unfair discrimination is civil rights testing. When the ERC identifies discrimination, it seeks to eliminate it through the use of testing data to educate the public and business community, support policy advocacy, conduct compliance testing and training, and, if necessary, take enforcement action. For more information, please visit www.equalrightscenter.org.