IAR GAD Howard Handler

The village of Glenview was right in adopting an ordinance to exempt property owners from a new Cook County mandate requiring all rental property owners to accept housing choice vouchers (Section 8 vouchers) as a form of payment, writes Howard Handler, Illinois Association of REALTORS® Government Affairs Director representing the North Shore – Barrington Association of REALTORS®.

Read Handler’s column, “Glenview spot-on in new fair housing ordinance,” for the Chicago Tribune’s TribLocal. Many property owners have had good experiences with the program and the wider range of tenants and revenue it provides, while other rental owners don’t want to take on the additional paperwork and regulations, Handler writes.   

“Glenview property owners have always had the right to partake in the Section 8 program. The intent of the Glenview Village Board was to preserve that right. Glenview’s ordinance does not discourage nor prevent property owners from accepting Housing Choice Vouchers,” Handler says.