united-states rental-property landlord tenant
Can I be sued for denying a tenant on the basis of income?
<p>I am a first-time landlord in Philadelphia, PA, USA looking to rent out my condo. As would be expected, I am looking to rent to tenants who are financially secure and wouldn't have any issue paying the rent. Ideally, I would like the tenants combined income to be at least 2x the monthly rent (3x being preferable). My question is, can I be sued for denying tenants explicitly because of their income? Or do I need to deny them for another reason? Or should I just ghost them? Not sure what the right approach here is, as both of the last two suggestions just seem cruel.</p>

<p>It is illegal in Philadelphia to discriminate on the basis of the <em>source</em> of income, under the <a href="https://www.phila.gov/HumanRelations/PDF/FPO%20Ch9-1100%20-9-2016_%20nc.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Fair Practices Ordinance</a>, e.g. section 8. The Fair Housing ordinance is <a href="https://www.phila.gov/FairHousingCommission/pdf/Fair%20Housing%20Ordinance%209-800%209-1200%20(4-20-2019).pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>, and as you can see there is no prohibition against requiring a certain level of income as a qualification to rent (nor is there any at the state level: <a href="https://www.phrc.pa.gov/Resources/Pages/Fair-Housing.aspx" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a> are the prohibited bases for discrimination at the state level).</p>
