Court hands New York landlords right to reject low-income renters

Judges unanimously toss voucher protection law

A New York appeals court just threw out a state law that kept landlords from turning away tenants with Section 8 housing vouchers.

On March 5, five judges from the Appellate Division’s Third Department ruled unanimously that the 2019 law violates the Constitution.

The decision is a big blow for low-income renters who count on vouchers to afford a place to live. Tenant advocates called it devastating.

Section 8 helps millions afford rent

The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program is a federal program that helps low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities pay rent in private housing.

Tenants pay up to 30% of their income, and the voucher picks up the rest. About 2.3 million families use the program across the country.

Around 2,000 local public housing agencies manage it on the ground. The Department of Housing and Urban Development runs the program at the federal level.

An Ithaca landlord started the fight

The case traces back to 2022, when Attorney General Letitia James sued Ithaca landlord Jason Fane for refusing Section 8 vouchers at his properties.

James argued Fane broke the state’s 2019 anti-discrimination law. A lower court judge sided with Fane in 2023, ruling in his favor.

James then appealed, pushing the case up to the five-judge panel that just issued its decision.

Judges said the law forces unconstitutional searches

The court found that the law effectively forces landlords into the Section 8 program, which requires them to open their properties and records to government inspections.

The judges said that amounts to making landlords give up their Fourth Amendment protection against searches without a warrant. They acknowledged the law had good intentions but said that wasn’t enough to save it.

The Constitution, they ruled, doesn’t bend for good policy goals.

The court still praised the program’s purpose

Even as they struck down the law, the judges called Section 8 a critical tool for expanding affordable housing.

They also pointed out that discrimination based on income source often serves as a cover for other kinds of bias, including racial discrimination.

The state Attorney General’s office has long argued that these protections help fight housing segregation. Still, the court said the constitutional problems with the law left them no choice.

Thousands of renters could lose protections

About 123,000 households in New York City alone use Section 8 to help cover rent, and tens of thousands more rely on vouchers across the state.

Without the law in place, landlords outside the city can now legally refuse voucher holders.

Housing advocates warn that finding an affordable apartment was already tough for low-income renters, and this ruling could make it much worse in an already tight rental market.

New York City’s own law still applies

New York City has had its own law banning voucher discrimination since 2008, separate from the state version. City officials said they are looking at how the state ruling might affect those local protections.

Some legal experts say landlords could try to use this decision to challenge the city’s law, but nothing is certain yet. For now, the city’s rule stays in place, and landlords there must still accept voucher holders.

Advocates call the decision devastating

The chair of the state Assembly’s Housing Committee called the ruling devastating and urged Attorney General James to appeal.

The head of the Rural Housing Coalition of New York said the decision hurts anyone searching for affordable housing, no matter where they live.

Advocates warned the ruling could deepen housing segregation and shrink options for the most vulnerable renters looking for stable homes.

Landlord groups say the court got it right

Small Property Owners of New York said the judges correctly recognized that the law stepped on property rights.

Landlords have long complained about the inspections, paperwork, and payment delays that come with the Section 8 program.

Industry groups argued that Congress designed the program to be voluntary for landlords, and state laws shouldn’t force them to participate. The ruling gives those groups the legal backing they’ve been pushing for.

Other states could face similar challenges

More than a dozen states and Washington, D.C., have passed laws protecting Section 8 holders from discrimination. About 120 cities and counties have their own local rules on the books too.

The constitutional argument at the heart of this case, that accepting vouchers forces landlords to consent to government searches, could now be tested in courts across the country.

Legal observers say this ruling gives landlords in other states a new roadmap for challenging similar protections.

James may appeal to the state’s top court

Attorney General James said her office is reviewing the decision. The case could go to the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in the state.

If that court takes the case, its ruling would decide whether New York landlords must accept housing vouchers or whether participation stays voluntary. No timeline for a potential appeal has been announced.

The national debate over vouchers heats up

Research shows that laws protecting voucher holders help renters use their vouchers and move to lower-poverty neighborhoods.

Discrimination against voucher holders has been a widespread problem for years, with landlords openly posting “no Section 8” in rental listings.

The fight over whether landlords should have to accept vouchers sits at the intersection of property rights, housing access, and how the country tackles its affordable housing crisis.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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