Suit Against Landlord and Broker for Voucher Discrimination May Proceed to Trial

Today, the Queens County Supreme Court rejected attempts by a landlord and broker to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the Fair Housing Justice Center over the broker’s “ghosting” of potential tenants using housing vouchers to pay rent. In 2021, the FHJC employed testers who inquired about an apartment in Jackson Heights, Queens. The testers claiming to have employment income received quick responses to their inquiries and were offered to tour the apartment. The testers who said they would use a housing voucher to pay the rent were rebuffed and ignored; the broker told one of them, regarding a previously-scheduled showing, “I don’t want you to come here.”

With these facts, the court rejected the defendants’ motions for summary judgment. The court found that the broker’s messages with the testers showed that she treated those with employment income differently from those with vouchers. Similarly, evidence suggested that the broker was working on behalf of the landlord, making the landlord vicariously liable for the broker’s actions. The case may now proceed to trial.

The FHJC is represented by Ali Frick and Kyla Magun.