On August 22, 2024, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the New York City Commission on Human Rights announced the largest civil rights settlement in New York City history. This $1 million housing discrimination settlement was imposed against Parkchester Preservation Management for discriminating against voucher holders. In addition to this historic event, the New York City Commission on Human Rights secured 850 apartment units, the most ever secured in a New York City Commission on Human Rights settlement, for individuals utilizing housing voucher.
Voucher or source of income discrimination is when individuals are treated differently because they use a form of a public subsidy — including Section 8 and City Fighting Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement (City FHEPS) vouchers — to pay their rent. Even though source-of-income discrimination has been illegal in New York City since 2008 under the New York City’s Human Rights Law, it remains one of the most common forms of housing discrimination reported to the New York City Commission on Human Rights.
The New York City Commission on Human Rights aims to protect New Yorker’s access to housing opportunities. It does this through certain methods like requiring a certain number of units be reserved for voucher holders, incentivizing real estate brokers to connect voucher holders to housing opportunities, proactively educating real estate entities across diverse communities to prevent source of income discrimination, and mandating required trainings for those who discriminate against voucher holders.
In September 2023, The New York City Commission launched a first-of-its-kind partnership with Fordham University’s Real Estate Institute, which is a continuing education course to reduce illegal voucher discrimination. Realtors and brokers are incentivized to take the course by receiving 1.5 credits towards the renewal of their license, which is required every two years. Upcoming sessions can be found on CCHR’s website.
To combat voucher discrimination, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the Housing Rights Initiative (HRI) launched a pilot program to identify source of voucher discrimination to improve the City’s enforcement efforts. Later this year, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development will expand their contract for fair housing testing and related efforts better pinpoint the source of income discrimination across the city.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams prioritizes reducing the number of landlords who discriminate against tenants based on their source of income. An example of this is the multimillion-dollar contract formed with an external provider to identify instances of housing discrimination found in Mayor Adam’s 2023 State of the City address. The Adams administration also launched the Tenant Protection Cabinet, to develop policies and strategies to provide New Yorker’s safer and fairer housing conditions. Last summer, the New York City Public Engagement Unit (PEU) launched a live operator tenant helpline to provide immediate support to New York tenants who face potential eviction, landlord harassment, or unacceptable living conditions. New Yorkers seeking the PEU Tenant Helpline can call 311 and be referred to a live operator.
Mayor Adams stated, “Today, our administration is using the full power of the legal system to tell New York City tenants: we’ve got your back. While we are tackling a generational housing shortage and affordability crisis, our administration is also going after the bad actors who prey on New Yorkers in the housing market. With a record settlement and 850 homes set aside to ensure voucher holders have access to affordable housing units, this announcement is a win for the everyday New Yorkers in search of safe, stable housing, and a warning sign for any predatory group trying to harm tenants.”
City Hall Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg stated, “The city must use all tools in its toolbox to protect access to housing for New Yorkers. Robust enforcement of our housing discrimination laws is a critical tool not only to secure justice for those denied access to rental units because of their source of income, but to deter future violators. This landmark resolution, announced by the New York City Commission on Human Rights, puts the entire real estate industry on notice: Housing discrimination will not be tolerated in this city.”
By: Chelsea Ramjeawan (Chelsea is the CityLaw intern and a New York Law School student, Class of 2025.)