At least 88 New York-based landlords and brokers face a lawsuit after housing advocates discovered how they are discriminating against people with Section 8 vouchers. On Monday, the Housing Rights Initiative group filed the case at Manhattan Federal Court after exposing the discrimination by posing as a potential tenant.
The Operation
In one phone conversation secretly recorded in February 2020, a woman pretended to be looking for a studio apartment with her boyfriend. She spotted a rent listing in the Upper East Side of Manhattan for $1,751 a month.
While the real estate agent said he would gladly assist the couple, the conversation tone changed when the undercover agent asked if the landlord accepts a federal housing voucher, also known as Section 88.
"If she accepts what? Oh, no, she would not," independent broker Harris Philip said, as reported by The New York Times.
"She just doesn't. She wants well-qualified people," the broker added.
The said exchange was just one of the 477 phone conversations recorded by the watchdog group. Some of the calls lasted for serval minutes, but 48% of the brokers or landlords on the other line would end the phone call once the fake tenant would mention the voucher.
What is Section 8 Voucher?
Section 8 housing assistance is a $22 billion annual program by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. Local housing authorities are administering the program enacted in 1978.
The largest share of vouchers goes to tenants from New York City, which is mostly composed of the Black and Latino communities. More than 125,000 households in the city are using Section 8 housing vouchers.
The Lawsuit
Based on the documents obtained by The Times, some of the big brokerage firms named in the lawsuit include Compass, the Corcoran Group, and a Century 21 franchise office in Manhattan, alongside small-time landlords and independent brokers.
"Our goal here is simple: It's to get real estate companies to abandon their discriminatory housing practices and follow the damn law," Housing Rights Initiative founder and executive director Aaron Carr said.
"They are the gatekeepers of housing and get to decide where families live, where they work, and where children go to school. Housing discrimination goes beyond the walls of housing," he added.
However, the discrimination lawsuit did not specify any demands to stop the biased practice and monetary damages.
Brokers Response
In an interview, Harris Philip said that he did not recall such a conversation from last year and explained he is aware that it is illegal to discriminate against someone because of their source of income.
"I would never say anything straightforward like this because I do consider Section 8 qualified," Philip said, adding that he never rented to someone with a voucher in his 40 years as a broker.
Meanwhile, Corcoran Group spokesperson said the company is taking the allegation seriously as they are committed to upholding the Fair Housing Act.
Century 21 corporate office declined to comment on the lawsuit but said they do not tolerate any discrimination.
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