DES MOINES – The Iowa legislature has approved a bill that outlaws municipalities from using “familial status” to determine occupancy for rental properties.
According to HF134, a city shall not, after January 1, 2018, adopt or enforce any regulation or restriction related to the occupancy of residential rental property that is based upon the existence of familial or non familial relationships between the occupants of such rental property.
Iowa’s leading lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) organization praised the bill.
“While we fully support city governments making their own decisions about aspects of rental properties, like number of occupants or health and safety standards, the use of familial status to determine occupancy should be eliminated,” Executive Director Daniel Hoffman-Zinnel said. “Allowing municipalities to define ‘family’ and use that definition to determine who can and can’t rent a home opens the door to discrimination against LGBTQ families.
“Local ordinances that discriminate against people based on what their family looks like do not reflect our state’s legacy of equality, and we thank the Iowa Senate for bringing us one step closer to ridding Iowa of these restrictions. It’s important to acknowledge that this Republican-introduced bill passed with bipartisan support, showcasing that upholding Iowa’s legacy of equality is a bipartisan effort.”
Governor Branstad is expected to sign the bill.