Landlords Who Get J-51 Benefits Must Accept Section 8 Vouchers

Tenants who received Section 8 vouchers sued landlords for refusing to accept the vouchers. Landlords, who all received J-51 tax benefits, refused to accept tenants' vouchers. They claimed that participation in the Section 8 program was voluntary and that they didn't discriminate against tenants. Landlords admitted that Local Law 10 of 2008, which amended the Human Rights Law, compelled them to accept vouchers from prospective tenants, or from a current tenant if landlords previously had agreed to accept Section 8 vouchers from that tenant. The court ruled for tenants. Local Law 10 made no distinction between prospective and current tenants, but protected "any person" and was intended to apply to current tenants even if they hadn't previously received Section 8 vouchers. And the J-51 law states that landlords receiving benefits can't directly or indirectly deny housing to any tenants who participate in the Section 8 housing voucher program. The court ordered landlords to accept tenants' vouchers.

Timkovsky v. 56 Bennett LLC: NYLJ, 3/4/09, p. 26, col. 1 (Sup. Ct. NY; Goodman, J)