Twenty-three New York City landlords and apartment brokers agreed to enact reforms to resolve a lawsuit alleging they routinely turned away prospective tenants seeking to use federal vouchers to supplement their rent, the Washington Post reported. The complaint, filed in March 2021, accused 88 landlords and brokers in the city of repeatedly rejecting tenants with Section 8 vouchers, a possible violation of state and local housing laws, though experts say they are rarely enforced. “As a result of widespread voucher discrimination, voucher holders must frequently accept subpar housing in segregated neighborhoods, or risk losing their voucher altogether,” the complaint claims. The case is ongoing in District Court for the Southern District of New York for the remaining tenants. Experts say that the Section 8 program has become more critical to low-income households in recent months as rents have increased, reaching a U.S. median of $1,792 in February, up 17 percent from a year ago. The program typically pays the difference between the amount of rent a voucher holder can afford and the amount being charged by landlords.
