After public hearings with the reception of testimony and documentary evidence, we find that discrimination against families with minor children in the leasing or renting of housing accommodations exists within the City and County of San Francisco. We further find that the existence of such discrimination poses a substantial threat to the health and welfare of a sizable segment of the community, namely families with minor children.
We find that a shortage of housing suitable for families with minor children exists within the City and County. We further find that a low vacancy rate exists in all rental housing throughout San Francisco. The addition of discrimination against families with minor children to the above two factors creates an untenable situation for the children of San Francisco.
We find that existing state and local laws prohibiting housing discrimination against families with children have not stopped acts of discrimination. Some landlords have attempted to circumvent these laws by engaging in subtle forms of discrimination that do not overtly exclude families with children but that nonetheless limit their opportunities to rent. Some landlords use overly restrictive occupancy standards to limit the number of persons who can reside in a rental unit. These standards have an adverse effect on the ability of families with children to rent because families with children tend to have a larger number of persons per household than childless households. Other forms of subtle discrimination include rent surcharges for additional occupants of a unit and unreasonable rules governing children's conduct in and around the rental unit.
The overall effect of such discrimination is to encourage the flight of families from the City and to further diminish family-oriented neighborhoods. It has an overall detrimental effect on the composition of the City, the stability of neighborhoods, the preservation of family life within the City, the living conditions of our children, the quality of our schools, and the viability of children's activities and organizations.
This discrimination cuts across all racial, ethnic and economic levels but has a disproportionate and adverse effect on racial and ethnic minority families.
(Added by Ord. 320-75, App. 7/14/75; amended by Ord. 399-87, App. 9/25/87)