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New York judges add new obstacle for low-income tenants with housing vouchers
By
David Brand
Published Mar 5, 2026
Modified Mar 5, 2026
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Spencer Platt/Getty Images
By
David Brand
Published Mar 5, 2026
Modified Mar 5, 2026
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A New York appeals court on Thursday struck down a landmark state law that bans discrimination against people who use government assistance to pay their rent, delivering a major setback to tens of thousands of low-income renters looking for apartments — and to local and statewide efforts to house them.
The panel of five upstate appellate judges ruled against Attorney General Letitia James and determined that a 2019 New York human rights law prohibiting “source of income” discrimination against tenants who use federal Section 8 vouchers violates the constitutional rights of property owners because the program requires building safety inspections.
Tenants qualify for Section 8 based on their income and typically pay no more than 30% of their earnings toward rent, while the voucher covers the remainder. Roughly 123,000 households in New York City use the program to pay a portion of their rent, and tens of thousands of others use the assistance elsewhere in the state.
Many voucher holders face discrimination from landlords, brokers and property managers who reject or ignore them, when they apply for apartments, often as a proxy for other forms of bias based on race, whether a renter has children or other characteristics. In their ruling, the judges acknowledged the discrimination that prompted state lawmakers to codify the source of income protections.
But under the current law, “landlords are now forced to consent to governmental searches of their rental properties and records” in violation of the Fourth Amendment, the judges wrote in their decision Thursday. The Section 8 program requires housing quality inspections and other documentation to protect tenants, prevent fraud and prove income eligibility.
James’ spokesperson Halimah Elmariah said the attorney general’s office was still reviewing the ruling and a possible appeal.
City Hall spokesperson Matt Rauschenbach said Mamdani administration officials are aware of the ruling and “evaluating any potential implications for New York City.”
The decision stems from a 2022 lawsuit that James filed against a prominent Ithaca landlord and his various subsidiary companies after two tenants reported being denied apartments because they used Section 8 vouchers to pay rent.
The landlord, Jason Fane, who runs the real estate firm Ithaca Renting Company, argued that he chose not to participate in the Section 8 program because its rules would force him “to consent to inspections of my buildings as well as my companies’ books, records and computers.”
A state judge sided with Fane, prompting the attorney general to appeal to the higher court in 2023.
Fane’s attorney Curtis Johnson told Gothamist that Fane and his company “are extremely pleased with the result.”
“Every judge that has looked at this issue has agreed that my client can’t be compelled to participate in a program that requires it to waive its Fourth Amendment rights,” Johnson said.
Lawyers representing tenants with housing vouchers swiftly denounced the ruling, and the argument underpinning it.
Legal Aid Society attorney Evan Henley, who filed a brief in support of the attorney general, said the decision was “fundamentally flawed” because it was not based on any specific instance of a landlord penalized for refusing an inspection or other requirement of the Section 8 program.
He said he hoped the attorney general would file an appeal with the state’s highest court.
“The ruling places thousands of New Yorkers who rely on housing vouchers at greater risk of discrimination in the housing market,” Henley said. “Source-of-income protections were enacted precisely because voucher holders have long been excluded from housing opportunities despite having lawful, reliable rental assistance.”
The decision will immediately affect tenants and apartment hunters with federal housing vouchers, but it could be even more far-reaching if landlords use it as grounds to deny people with other forms of assistance, or challenge local discrimination laws, like one New York City established in 2008, he said.
More than 60,000 New York City households use a separate city-funded voucher program known as CityFHEPS to help cover their rent at a cost of over $1 billion. The city also helps tenants pay rent through other subsidies, including a program for people with HIV/AIDS.
New York City expanded its voucher program, known as CityFHEPS, to allow recipients to rent apartments outside the five boroughs. The move prompted towns and counties to enact rules to block landlords from leasing to tenants with CityFHEPS.
Neither the state nor city challenged the bans.
Tagged
economy
housing
new york city
David Brand
David is a reporter covering housing for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 908-310-3960.
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