A measure against discrimination over federal housing vouchers awaits Jenniffer González Colón's signature

On July 22, 2026, NotiCel reports that Governor Jenniffer González Colón has on her desk a bill to expressly prohibit discrimination against buyers who pay with federal-fund vouchers. Senate Bill 679, filed by Senate vice president Carmelo Ríos and signed by seven other party colleagues, says in its statement of motives that the phenomenon occurs. Through the Reconstruction, Repair, and Relocation Program (R3) $2,175 million has been allocated to acquire housing, and 66 percent of beneficiary families have not managed to buy, among other reasons because of sellers' explicit refusal to accept federal vouchers.

Seventy-eight percent of the complaints received at the Housing Ombudsman's Office in 2023, according to the bill, involved the rejection of federal recovery funds. That money expires in 2029. The Federal Housing Act, NotiCel notes, excludes source of income as a protected ground. The Department of Housing, the Association of Mayors, and the Puerto Rico Association of Realtors favor the measure. It would create the Act for the Management of Recovery Funds Destined for Home Purchase and the Repopulation of Municipalities, and would amend the Internal Revenue Code.

It defines as a discriminatory practice that an owner, agent, broker, or administrator reject a buyer for being a participant in a federal recovery program. Claims would go to the Department of Housing, with fines of between $1,000 and $5,000 per violation. It does not apply to homes for sale by religious entities nor to sellers who do not use brokers, unless the seller owns more than two units. The tax amendment legislates a preferential 2 percent rate on net capital gains in sales to people certified as beneficiaries. The Legislative Assembly Budget Office estimates a fiscal impact of $8 million a year. The committee, according to NotiCel, takes note of that figure and places it in recovery policy, not as a general exemption.

This measure is not mixed with the cancellation of CDBG-MIT houses in Toa Alta that Radio Isla will cover on July 27, nor with the $20 million for nonprofit entities of the 21st. Purchase vouchers, mitigation, and legislative appropriations are three channels. Jenniffer González Colón appears only as the addressee of the signature.

NotiCel does not say whether she will sign. The reader who wants S.B. 679 has the URL at the foot. This is not original reporting.

Source: NotiCel. https://noticel.com/ultima-hora/20260722/espera-por-la-gobernadora-medida-que-prohibe-discrimen-en-compra-de-vivienda-con-vales-federales/