Application Denied Based on Partial Pay Stub Information

Facts: Landlord of nonprofit housing development corporation denied housing to low-income applicant after calculating applicant's annual income from prior pay stubs. Applicant had reported his yearly income at $33,495 when he applied for the apartment. The building was "80/20" housing, meaning that the government reserved a percent of the apartments for low-income housing. Landlord determined that applicant's annual salary was $43,171, based on recent stubs. This placed him above the income threshold for a four-person household. Applicant sued landlord, claiming its method of calculating tenant's income was arbitrary and unreasonable and violated HUD guidelines. The court ruled for applicant, finding that landlord failed to take applicant's real job and salary factors into account. Landlord appealed.

Court: Landlord wins. The appeals court found that landlord's projection of applicant's annual income from his last eight pay stubs was rational and complied with HUD guidelines. The HUD Handbook states that, "generally, the owner must use current circumstances to anticipate income. The owner calculates projected annual income by annualizing current income." Federal regulations further define annual income as "all amounts, monetary or not, which . . . are anticipated to be received from a source outside the family during the 12-month period following admission" to the building. Under the HUD guidelines and regulations, landlord correctly projected applicant's income by relying on applicant's most recent pay stubs.

Noman v. Management, West 31st Street Apartments: NYLJ, 6/5/08, p. 34, col. 5 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Lippman, PJ, Mazzarelli, Williams, Sweeny, Acosta, JJ)