Restrictive Rental Practices and Their Impact on Families

This article presents the results of a national survey about exclusionary rental policies concerning children. Based on a national sample of renters and the owners or managers of their rental units, the data document the nature, extent and magnitude of exclusion-ary policies, the attitudes of managers about renting to families with children, the attitudes of renters toward living near children, and the effects that these policies have had on American families. The study shows that exclusionary practices against children have increased in the past decade. The data suggest hat exclusionary practices pose a real problem for many American families. Background In these times of concern about the demise of the family, there is increasing recognition that the forces which serve to further erode our family structures are far reaching. One force that has received national attention is the changing nature of the housing market and its impact on families. Home-ownership has become less financially possible for many young families and for an increasing number of single parent house-holds, causing greater demand among families with children for rental housing. At the same time, there has been an increase in numbers of families and individuals without children--e.g., divorced and widowed individuals, elderly persons, and voluntarily childless couples--many of whom do not want the responsibilities and burdens of home-ownership