Low Income and Public Assistance: It is not discriminatory to refuse a tenant who can not afford the rent but you may not refuse to rent to a person simply because she/he is receiving public as- sistance. You will be discriminating against her/him if you do not usually screen for income and you set different income require- ments for public assistance recipients.

Section 8 is the name of a subsidized Housing Assistance Program of HUD (US Department of Housing and Urban Development). It means that the program subsidizes tenants� rents by paying part of the rent directly to the Landlord. The tenant pays up to 30% of her/his income and the local housing authority pays the rest.

In most areas of California you can refuse to participate in the program. If you decide to participate, it does not mean that all your tenants have to be in Section 8 or that the housing authority is going to select tenants for you.You can screen your tenants and decide.

You will have the same rights and responsibilities as in any tenancy, so you may not discriminate against prospective tenants of any protected class. You should not assume that any particular race has Section 8.

Tenants also have the same responsibilities, so you can ask them to pay a deposit (not higher than the one paid for other tenants), pay rent on time, maintain the property or pay for any damage caused by those tenants.

Tenants who do not have jobs: You may not refuse to rent to a person whose income is from alimony, or a trust fund or invest- ment income. You should verify the income they are claiming and use your normal criteria of tenant selection.