The Legal Aid Society, working with Legal Services of the Hudson Valley, filed this amicus brief defending state-wide protections against source of income discrimination on behalf of Safe Horizon, a non-profit organization that serves unsheltered, unstably housed, and homeless New Yorkers subject to domestic violence, abuse, and other forms of violence, and also on behalf of Congregations Linked in Urban Strategy to Effect Renewal, which works with low- to moderate-income Section 8 participants in Westchester. In the underlying suit, a group of landlords prevailed at the trial court level, arguing that the New York State Human Rights Law’s source of income protections violate their Fourth Amendment rights by subjecting them to unconstitutional searches of their rental units and records. In our brief, we explained that the New York Human Rights Law does not authorize warrantless searches, and that landlords who participate in the Section 8 program have multiple avenues to obtain judicial review of any inspection or other search prior to facing penalties for refusing to consent to an inspection or search.

Source of income laws prohibit property owners from refusing to accept rental payments made by means of lawful sources of income, including housing vouchers. There are approximately 245,000 Section 8 program participants in New York, including more than 130,000 participants in New York City. Laws prohibiting source of income discrimination are critically important for low-income renters, who continue to face rampant discrimination as they seek safe and stable housing. Learn more about source of income discrimination here.