Housing & Rent · Surprise rank #220
Landlord Says 'No Section 8' or Rejects Your Legal Income Source? NY Housing Discrimination Law May Protect You
New York's Human Rights Law prohibits covered housing discrimination based on lawful source of income, including many government and private support sources.
Who
Renters and housing applicants using protected income such as Section 8 or other housing assistance, Social Security, public assistance, child support, alimony or other lawful sources.
What to do
Start here: Save the ad, texts, emails or statements showing the income-source rejection and report the housing discrimination to the New York State Division of Human Rights.
Eligibility: The conduct must fall within New York Human Rights Law coverage and involve a protected lawful source of income.
What you get
Covered housing providers cannot reject or treat applicants differently because rent will be paid with a protected lawful source of income.
Benefit: Equal access to covered housing plus a complaint/enforcement route when a provider discriminates.
Possible value: No fixed cash payment; remedies can include housing-related relief and damages depending on the case.
Good to know
Important: Coverage can depend on the housing/provider and facts. A landlord can still use lawful, nondiscriminatory screening criteria that are not a proxy for rejecting the protected income source.
Availability: Active legal protection
Why people miss it: Applicants may assume 'no vouchers' is simply a landlord preference rather than potential source-of-income discrimination.
Sources reviewed: Aug 10, 2026