Suit alleges bias by landlords, brokers vs. Section 8 tenants
An undercover operation found that landlords and brokers routinely violate the law by discriminating against prospective tenants using Section 8 vouchers, housing advocates said Monday while announcing a new lawsuit.
One broker told a Housing Rights Initiative advocate posing as a potential tenant that there was “not a hope in hell” a landlord would accept the subsidized rent voucher. The lawsuit filed in Manhattan Federal Court against 88 landlords and brokers seeks a court order that they comply with laws prohibiting discrimination against Section 8 tenants.
In New York, about 82% of people with Section 8 vouchers, which are used to help pay rent in private housing and are accepted by NYCHA, are Black or Hispanic.
Nancy Padilla, who spent roughly 15 years living in shelters while looking for long-term housing, said the vouchers served as a red flag.
“Every time a landlord or broker saw my voucher ... their whole facial expression changed immediately. They turned me away even though I was qualified,” said Padilla, who spoke at a virtual news conference announcing the suit. “Once they saw the voucher, there was a stop sign.”
Aaron Carr, executive director of the Housing Rights Initiative, said he launched the probe in response to “a litany of complaints.”
“We deployed investigators who covertly recorded hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of phone calls,” Carr said. “Our goal here is simple: It’s to get real estate companies to abandon their discriminatory housing practices and to follow the damn law.”
The alleged bias occurred during the pandemic, Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens) said. City apartment tenants are estimated to be more than $1 billion in debt from missed rent payments, she said.