OPINION: No one with a legal income should be denied a home they can afford
Ten years ago, New York City amended its human rights law to ban housing discrimination against lawful source of income. The change outlawed the common practice of landlords denying housing to individuals paying rent with non-wage income, like veteran benefits, disability benefits, Section 8 vouchers or child support. But the law was not strong enough, exempting most of the housing stock in the outer boroughs and leaving residents vulnerable.
Even with the law in place, discriminatory practices continue. In 2017 alone, the NYC Commission on Human Rights investigated more than 200 cases of source-of-income discrimination by landlords and brokers, including many in gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhoods where lower-income families have lived for generations. New Yorkers with legal incomes who can afford to pay rent are illegally being denied housing because landlords don’t approve of where their income originates.
This year, two important changes suggest that we may be able to eradicate this practice for good.