Prospective Tenants with FHEPS Vouchers Claim Income Discrimination

Potential tenant, a domestic violence survivor who was staying at a shelter with her child, had no current income but had a FHEPS program voucher that would pay 100 percent of her rent. She applied to landlord for apartment rentals but was denied any rentals. She then sought assistance from plaintiff for housing discrimination. Plaintiff, which had received similar complaints from other individuals, used trained testers posing as prospective tenants to investigate before suing landlords for income discrimination. Landlords asked the court to dismiss the case, claiming that any rejections of prospective tenants were properly based on unsatisfactory credit reports. But plaintiff argued that where the FHEPS voucher would pay a tenant's entire rent, it was discriminatory and unlawful for landlord to refuse to rent to the tenant on the basis of claimed credit issues. The court ruled against landlord. There were questions of fact that precluded a decision without trial, including how landlords processed applications of FHEPS program applicants and whether building owners participated in management schemes to deny applications.

Fair Hous. Justice Center, Inc. v. Fairstead Mgmt. LLC: Index No. 952363/2023, 2024 NY Slip Op 33325(U)(Sup. Ct. NY; 9/19/24; Latin, J)