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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.

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It is illegal in Philadelphia to discriminate on the basis of the source of income, under the Fair Practices Ordinance, e.g. section 8. The Fair Housing ordinance is here, 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: here are the prohibited bases for discrimination at the state level).

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    To clarify, "source of income" primarily refers to discrimination against someone who receives income, in part, alimony and child support, although it is not strictly so limited.
    – ohwilleke
    Commented Aug 27, 2020 at 0:37

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