The source-of-income antidiscrimination statute in the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) is unconstitutional as it violates the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, New York State Supreme Court Judge Mark G. Masler, presiding in Cortland County, has ruled. People v. Commons W., LLC, 2023 NY Slip Op. 23213 (Sup. Ct. June 27, 2023).
Judge Masler found landlords participating in Section 8 housing vouchers were compelled to consent to warrantless searches of their records and properties, as a condition of participating in Section 8, in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
The NYSHRL’s source-of-income antidiscrimination statute (N.Y. Exec. Law § 296(5)(a)(1)) makes refusing to “sell, rent, or lease a housing accommodation” to an individual because of their lawful source of income a discriminatory practice. Under the NYSHRL (N.Y. Exec. Law § 292(36)), an individual’s lawful source of income includes any federal or state housing assistance, including, but not limited to, assistance provided through the Housing Choice Voucher Program, more commonly known as Section 8.
Section 8 is a federal government assistance program that provides vouchers to eligible low-income families. Although participation in Section 8 is a voluntary program at the federal level, a voucher cannot be accepted as rent payment without the landlord’s participation in the program through a Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) contract with a Public Housing Agency. Significantly, the...
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