Are you experiencing discrimination in housing? 

Housing discrimination is illegal in San José.  Learn what to do if you experience harassment or discrimination in your home or when applying for housing.  

There are laws that protect your housing rights in San José. People renting or selling homes and businesses that provide mortgages must follow these laws.  

Who is Protected? 

You cannot be treated differently because of your:

• Age

• AIDS/HIV status 

• Ancestry  

• Color  

• Creed (your beliefs and your habits based on those beliefs) 

• Disability  

• Family status 

• Gender identity  

• National origin  

• Place where you were born 

• Pregnancy status 

• Race  

• Religion  

• Sex 

• Sexual orientation  

• Source of income (including housing vouchers) 

• Medical condition 

What does this mean?

People may not make housing decisions based on these facts about you. For example, they cannot use these facts to:  

• Refuse to rent or sell to you 

• Evict you  

• Fail to make a reasonable accommodation 

• Change the terms of your housing  

• Harass you 

• Refuse to provide services, repairs, facilities, and improvements 

• Lie about whether housing is available 

• Charge you a higher interest rate

What can you do if you experience discrimination in housing?

• Contact local legal resources with your questions about housing discrimination (link).

• Contact the Housing Department’s Rent Stabilization Program (link) at 408-975-4480 or rsp@sanjoseca.gov. 

• File a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department (link) at 800-884-1684 or TTY 800-700-2320.

• File a complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (link). 

Landlords with questions regarding the Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) program should contact the Santa Clara County Housing Authority for more information. 

Source of Income Discrimination Resources 

The City of San Jose has a Housing Payment Equality Ordinance that prohibits discrimination based on how a person pays their rent. Here is a Fact Sheet and the full Ordinance.   

Here are frequently asked questions from the California Civil Rights Department. Fair Housing and Source of Income | Vivienda Justa y Fuente de Ingresos 

Are there legal resources to address housing discrimination?

Project Sentinel 

https://www.housing.org/ 

888-324-7468 

1490 El Camino Real 

Santa Clara, CA 95050 

fairhousing@housing.org 

Law Foundation 

https://www.lawfoundation.org/