Harlem Brokers Discriminated Against Low-Income Renters: Lawsuit

HARLEM, NY — Three apartments in Harlem are among nearly 50 across the city that brokers refused to rent to investigators posing as low-income tenants, according to a new lawsuit filed in federal court Monday.

The lawsuit alleges that 88 landlords and real estate brokers refused to rent apartments to prospective tenants who said they were using Section 8 vouchers, a federal housing assistance grant. Such a refusal is illegal in New York City.

The investigation began in 2019, when workers from the Housing Rights Initiative pretending to be low-income renters called brokers and recorded their conversations.

When it came to three apartments in Harlem, brokers either explicitly or implicitly said that Section 8 vouchers would not be welcome, according to the lawsuit.

The apartments

Here are the Harlem apartments that brokers refused to rent to prospective tenants using Section 8 vouchers, according to the lawsuit:

408 West 130th St. #16K

• In October 2019, a broker from Morgan Rose Realty told an investigator that "the landlord doesn't accept that" when asked about Section 8 vouchers, the lawsuit alleges.

13 Hamilton Terrace, #2E

• "I don't think this landlord accepts Section 8," a broker for Home by Choice told an investigator in February 2020, the suit claims. "He's not registered with, um, with the Section 8, um, HUD agency ... so you would have to qualify financially."

315 West 121st St. #6

• A broker from Brittbran Realty said told an investigator in February 2020 that "we don't have the proper documents for the Section 8 program" when asked about vouchers, according to the lawsuit.

The suit is demanding an end to the practices as well as unspecified monetary damages.

Reached for comment, a Morgan Rose spokesperson said "I do not know what this is about," adding that their office has been closed for the past year during the pandemic. Home by Choice did not respond to a request for comment, while Brittbran could not be reached.

More than 80 percent of New Yorkers who use housing vouchers are Black and Hispanic, but the investigation found discrimination was most prevalent in higher-income, majority-white neighborhoods, according to Aaron Carr, the founder of the Housing Rights Initiative.

"When you discriminate against tenants with rental assistance, you discriminate against tenants of color," Carr said in a news conference Monday.

"Every time a landlord saw my voucher…their whole facial expression changed," said Nancy Padilla, a tenant and HRI client, during the news conference. "Immediately, they would turn me away."

Related coverage: Dozens Of Landlords, Brokers Accused Of Housing Bias: Lawsuit