Applicant Without Section 8 Subsidy Rejected

Facts: A gay white man with a psychiatric disability sued landlords, claiming housing discrimination on the basis of race, sexual orientation, and disability. He claimed that landlords' refusal to rent him an apartment violated several laws, including the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Court: Landlords win. One landlord showed that it offered tenant four apartments during a two-year period, but by law couldn't rent to tenant because he didn't have a Section 8 subsidy. So tenant didn't qualify for the benefit of housing in that building. The other landlord showed that only two apartments became available for rent during the period tenant sought housing, and neither was a one-bedroom apartment, which was the size unit tenant qualified for at his income level.

Passanante v. R.Y. Mgmt. Co.: NYLJ, 3/5/01, p. 31, col. 3 (SDNY; Cote, J)