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I agree it would be discriminatory as a landlord to say/think, "EWWW! Section 8? That means you must be poor! I wouldn't take you even if you paid cash yourself!"
However, the landlord DOES NOT HAVE TO ACCEPT THE SECTION 8 VOUCHER, and, furthermore, the landlord CANNOT ACCEPT IT if the municipality their rental is located in is not also part of the Section 8 program.
So, as a practical matter, as in what happens in everyday life, anyone with one wants to use it, not pay all cash for their rent and they will seek out landlords who are part of the program, not those who aren't, and they cannot "force" a landlord to become part of the program on threat of discrimination. In conclusion, the point you are making about the law is moot.
Obviously, if the municipality does not have a Section 8 program the landlord cannot accept it.
However, if the municipality does have a Section 8 program and you refuse to accept a voucher from someone who otherwise meets your rental guidelines, you are clearly in violation of the law.
I don't believe the law has been tested yet in Nassau, but here is a similar case in Buffalo, where they had the same language in the law:
An excerpt from a brochure from Long Island Housing Services, Inc. entitled "Fair Housing - Your Rights Under the Law":
The Nassau County Human Rights Law includes all of the above (excluding marital status and military status) and has these additional covered classes: ethnicity, source of income (meaning any legitimate source of income, such as SSI, Section 8, court ordered alimony.
Obviously, if the municipality does not have a Section 8 program the landlord cannot accept it.
However, if the municipality does have a Section 8 program and you refuse to accept a voucher from someone who otherwise meets your rental guidelines, you are clearly in violation of the law.
I don't believe the law has been tested yet in Nassau, but here is a similar case in Buffalo, where they had the same language in the law:
An excerpt from a brochure from Long Island Housing Services, Inc. entitled "Fair Housing - Your Rights Under the Law":
The Nassau County Human Rights Law includes all of the above (excluding marital status and military status) and has these additional covered classes: ethnicity, source of income (meaning any legitimate source of income, such as SSI, Section 8, court ordered alimony.
Am I correct in understanding that if you're a landlord in a community with Section 8 housing, and a S8 tenant comes to you, you have no choice but to accept him or her -- whether or not you are in the S8 program?
Am I correct in understanding that if you're a landlord in a community with Section 8 housing, and a S8 tenant comes to you, you have no choice but to accept him or her -- whether or not you are in the S8 program?
There seems to be a misconception among the landlords on this thread. Tenants are in Section 8 programs, not Landlords. The properties that Section 8 tenants rent have to meet the program guidelines, and that sometimes takes cooperation on the part of the landlord. But it is the Tenant who is the the program participant, not the Landlord.
That being said, in Nassau County it is illegal to discrimanate against a prospective tentant because they get a Section 8 subsidy. It is just like discriminating against somebody because they are black. Or discriminating against someone because they are Jewish.
That's not saying that you have to take someone because they are on Section 8. You just cannot refuse to take someone because they are on Section 8. You can still apply standards, as long as they are not discriminatory under the law.
There seems to be a misconception among the landlords on this thread. Tenants are in Section 8 programs, not Landlords. The properties that Section 8 tenants rent have to meet the program guidelines, and that sometimes takes cooperation on the part of the landlord. But it is the Tenant who is the the program participant, not the Landlord.
That being said, in Nassau County it is illegal to discrimanate against a prospective tentant because they get a Section 8 subsidy. It is just like discriminating against somebody because they are black. Or discriminating against someone because they are Jewish.
That's not saying that you have to take someone because they are on Section 8. You just cannot refuse to take someone because they are on Section 8. You can still apply standards, as long as they are not discriminatory under the law.
After you wade through all the above ... the situation still remains ...
Translation: A landlord does NOT have to accept Section 8. Period.
Last edited by I_Love_LI_but; 04-09-2010 at 03:28 PM..
There seems to be a misconception among the landlords on this thread. Tenants are in Section 8 programs, not Landlords. The properties that Section 8 tenants rent have to meet the program guidelines, and that sometimes takes cooperation on the part of the landlord. But it is the Tenant who is the the program participant, not the Landlord.
That being said, in Nassau County it is illegal to discrimanate against a prospective tentant because they get a Section 8 subsidy. It is just like discriminating against somebody because they are black. Or discriminating against someone because they are Jewish.
That's not saying that you have to take someone because they are on Section 8. You just cannot refuse to take someone because they are on Section 8. You can still apply standards, as long as they are not discriminatory under the law.
OK, so a landlord does not have to accept Section 8, but if a Section 8 tenant approaches them, they can't refuse them. Basically, a landlord is hosed and doesn't really have a choice. Then once the tick's on the dog, the tick (by way of HUD) calls the shots.
OK, so a landlord does not have to accept Section 8, but if a Section 8 tenant approaches them, they can't refuse them. Basically, a landlord is hosed and doesn't really have a choice. Then once the tick's on the dog, the tick (by way of HUD) calls the shots.
Incorrect. That's why he cannot give you a definitive "yes." Because how do they force landlords to follow all the Section 8 rules and regulations if they force them into the program? If you don't follow all these rules, as a landlord you are kicked out of the program. So a landlord can get themselves kicked out of the program if they are forced to take it and don't want it. Or do they NOT make the landlords forced to take Section 8 follow the rules and just send them the check every month? That's why adding no discrimination against Section 8 to the "law" is such a ridiculous one ... because they cannot force all landlords to abide by all the rules and regulations the Section 8 program ... so how do you enforce it in Nassau? I know in NYC they have forced landlords with building larger than 6 rental units and in cases where an existing tenant is already paying next to nothing because they have rent control. But I don't know what happens if the forced Section 8 landlords break the rules. That's something they don't report in the news, just the so called no discrimination "victory." The same for the news story in Buffalo cited previously in this thread. They enforced it against a very large landlord, but I wonder how that actually turned out.
BTW, this is another thing Nassau County can directly thank Tom Suozzi for, as he teamed up with ACORN and signed the law adding no discrimination against Section 8 in 2004. Besides adding the no discrimination against source of income, it also added that private attorneys could be used by disgruntled Section 8 recipients to sue landlords in civil court, instead of that a tenant has to go to the authorities first and the authorities would have a chance to address the problem. So he really threw Nassau landlords to the sharks here. I am glad most municipalities in Nassau have no Section 8 program and I am glad I chose not to live in a municipality that has one.
Some of the reasons many landlords do not like accepting Section 8 is because of all the regulations, interactions with caseworkers, red tape, paperwork, inspections, late payments from the government, no or late payments from the tenants and difficulty getting a rent increase. It's not just because they are afraid of getting bad tenants from the program. It's because the program is not well run.
In order to be part of the program you have to strictly follow their rules. So say a landlord is forced to accept Section 8 tenants in a legal action. That means they have to abide by all the rules and regulations of the Section 8 program. Say such landlord does not follow the rules and is kicked out of the program. So how can he continue to accept the Section 8 voucher from the tenant they forced him to take? Or does that mean that he is allowed to break all the Section 8 rules that voluntary Section 8 landlords would get kicked out of the program for? It's a ridiculous law and it's crazy to enact a law like this in the first place. But thank the limousine liberal Tom Suozzi. Notice Steve Levy didn't do this.
Last edited by I_Love_LI_but; 04-10-2010 at 09:03 AM..
Another interesting point on "Source of Income" as a protected class. It seems to me that landlords who would like Section 8 tenants cannot give them preference over non-Section 8 tenants. Just like you cannot advertise "whites preferred" or "married couples preferred" you can no longer advertise "Section 8 preferred".
I for one do not discriminate. The colour of money is green for everyone. As long as you can pay your rent and the checks are good, thats fine with me.
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