City, County and Civic Leaders Hash Out New Housing Rules

Columbus city leaders spent the morning talking to landlords and civic groups about new federal rules on housing discrimination. Columbus City Councilman Zach Klein says Columbus and Franklin County have for some time included gay and transgender residents in their anti-discrimination laws on housing, but the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development only included those communities two months ago. “These rules are from the federal level, and say that if you’re receiving HUD funding or you’re receiving HUD assistance for your housing project and you’re the landlord, you can no longer discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender identity.â€? Columbus is known as a gay-friendly city, but Klein says he heard from several people this morning who say they were denied housing because of their sexual preference or identity.