FAIR HOUSING GUIDE

NEW YORK STATE DIVISION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

RACE COLOR CREED NATIONAL ORIGIN

SEX AGE DISABILITY MARITAL STATUS

FAMILIAL STATUS SEXUAL ORIENTATION

MILITARY STATUS RACE COLOR CREED

NATIONAL ORIGIN SEX AGE DISABIL-

ITY MARITAL STATUS FAMILIAL STATUS

SEXUAL ORIENTATION MILITARY STATUS

RACE COLOR CREED NATIONAL ORIGIN

SEX AGE DISABILITY MARITAL STATUS

FAMILIAL STATUS SEXUAL ORIENTATION

MILITARY STATUS RACE COLOR CREED

NATIONAL ORIGIN SEX AGE DISABILITY

ANDREW M. CUOMO, GOVERNOR

FAIR HOUSING GUIDE

Discrimination really hurts.

If you see it or

experience it, call us.

We’re here.

Table of Contents:

Introduction 2

Who is Protected 4

Who Must Follow the Law 6

What Is Prohibited

I. In Connection with the sale, rental or leasing 6

II. Retaliation, Aiding, Abetting and Coercion 8

III. Real Estate Brokers, Salespersons, and Employees;

Real Estate Boards 9

IV. Reasonable Accommodations for Persons

with Disabilities 10

What Housing is Covered 11

What About Lending Discrimination 12

How Do I Know If My Rights Have Been Violated 14

Where Can I Go To Protect My Rights

I. Government Agencies and Courts 16

II. Private Organizations and Attorneys 20

When Do I Have To File A Complaint 22

Introduction

Housing discrimination is an evil that hurts both its victims

and society as a whole. It goes against our vision of a free

society and its elimination is a strong New York State and

national priority. Housing discrimination seriously injures its

victims, causing them emotional and ﬁnancial harm.

There are strong national, state and local laws that prohibit

housing discrimination. They provide many places to go to

ﬁle housing discrimination complaints. The laws also provide

many different forms of relief to victims and to society,

including monetary damages and ﬁnes. The laws also permit

a court or administrative body, to order violators to stop

discriminating and to make up for past wrongdoing.

In New York State, the Executive Law (Human Rights Law)

prohibits housing and lending discrimination, as well as many

other different forms of discrimination. The New York State

Division of Human Rights is responsible for enforcing the

Executive Law. The Division receives and investigates housing

and lending discrimination complaints and, if warranted,

holds hearings and issues enforceable orders. If you think

your rights have been violated, you can ﬁle a complaint with

the Division and they will investigate. You do not need a

lawyer to ﬁle a complaint. You may also ﬁle a complaint under

the Human Rights Law directly in court.

This pamphlet describes your fair housing rights under the

Executive Law. It describes who is protected by the law,

who must follow the law, what actions are prohibited, and

what to do if your rights have been violated. It is important

to remember that there are also federal and local laws

prohibiting discrimination. If something is not prohibited by

the Executive Law, you should consult federal and local law,

because they might prohibit it.

To help you determine whether your rights have been

violated, this publication offers examples of behavior

Who Must Follow The Law?

that appear to violate the law. Generally, however, more

investigation is necessary to decide whether behavior is

illegal. The government agencies and organizations listed at

the end of this pamphlet can conduct such investigations.

The New York State Executive Law prohibits housing

discrimination on the basis of several “protected

characteristics.” It is illegal for someone to discriminate

against you because of one of these protected

characteristics. The protected characteristics are:

Race

Creed

Except: A religious institution can, under certain circum-

stances, limit the sale or rental of housing to a member of

the same religion to further its religious principles.

Color

National Origin

Sex

Except: Single-sex housing accommodations such as female-

or male-only dormitories at a college are permitted.

Age

Except: Housing accommodations restricted to people 55

years old or older are permitted;

Except: Housing discounts to people 65 years or older are

permitted.

Disability

Except: Housing discounts to people with disabilities are

permitted.

Marital Status

Military Status

Family Status

Sexual Orientation

The Executive Law does not give preference to any one

particular race, creed, color, national origin, sex, age,

disability, marital status, family status, or sexual orientation.

If somebody denies housing to you, and the reason is one of

these characteristics, whatever that characteristic happens

to be, it is illegal.

Examples:

A landlord instructs a real estate agent not to rent

apartments in his building to “minorities.”

A landlord refuses to rent apartments to single people.

A housing complex has an “adults only” rental policy.

Anybody who sells, rents, or leases housing must follow the

Executive Law. This includes:

Owners

Tenants

Subtenants

Managing agents

Real estate brokers

Real estate agents

Agents and employees of the above persons

Examples:

A family member who assists her relative in selling her home

cannot discriminate.

A tenant of an apartment cannot discriminate if subletting

the apartment to another person.

What is Prohibited?

I. IN CONNECTION WITH THE SALE, RENTAL, OR LEASING

OF HOUSING

The Executive Law makes it illegal to discriminate in the

sale, rental, or leasing of housing because of a protected

characteristic. Speciﬁcally, the law makes it illegal to do the

following because of a protected characteristic:

Refuse to sell, rent, or lease housing.

Example: An owner refuses to sell a home to any Asian

Americans.

Discriminate in the terms, conditions, or privileges in the

sale, rental, or leasing of housing.

Examples: A landlord requires higher security deposits

from African American families in connection with renting

apartments.

A homeowner decides to require a larger down payment

from a Latino family in connection with the sale of a home.

Discriminate in providing facilities or services in connection

with the sale, rental, or leasing of housing.

Example: A landlord refuses to allow Latino children only to

play unattended at a playground.

Print or circulate a statement, advertisement, or publication

expressing a limitation, speciﬁcation, or discrimination in

the sale, rental, or leasing of housing.

Example: A landlord asks all persons who call in response to

a housing advertisement “what kind of name” they have.

Use an application for housing that expresses any

limitation, speciﬁcation, or discrimination in the sale, rental,

or leasing of housing.

Example: A real estate application asks questions about a

protected characteristic.

Make any record or inquiry in connection with the

prospective purchase, rental, or lease of a housing

accommodation that expresses any limitation, speciﬁcation,

or discrimination.

Example: A landlord asks the religion of prospective tenants.

Discriminate against a person with a seeing impairment

because of their use of a guide dog, or a person with a

hearing impairment because of their use of a hearing dog.

Discriminate against a person with a disability because of

their use of a service dog. Discriminate against a person

with disability because of their use of an emotional support

animal.

II. RETALIATION, AIDING AND ABETTING, AND COERCION

The Executive Law also prohibits participating in

discrimination or retaliating against someone for helping

to enforce the Law. Speciﬁcally, the Law prohibits:

Aiding someone in violating the Executive Law.

Example: A real estate agent carries out a landlord’s

instructions not to rent to single men.

Coercing or compelling someone to violate the Executive Law.

Example: A co-op board informs an owner that it will not

approve a sale to an African American buyer.

Retaliating against someone for opposing housing

discrimination, ﬁling a complaint, or testifying or assisting

in any enforcement action under the Law.

Example: A real estate agency ﬁres an employee for

reporting that a landlord refused to rent to her Latino client.

III. REAL ESTATE BROKERS, SALESPERSONS, AND EMPLOYEES;

REAL ESTATE BOARDS

In addition to the above restrictions, the Executive Law adds

additional obligations on real estate brokers, real estate

salespersons, and their employees. Speciﬁcally, it is illegal

for them to:

Refuse to negotiate for the sale, rental, or leasing of

housing.

Example: A real estate agent refuses to negotiate for the

rental of housing with a person with a disability.

Represent that housing is not available for sale, rental, or

lease when it is available.

Example: A real estate salesperson shows housing to a

white person but then tells a minority person that the same

housing is not available for rental.

It is also illegal for a real estate board to exclude or expel

any person, or discriminate against a person in the terms,

conditions, and privileges of membership on the board on

account of a protected characteristic.

IV. REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS FOR PERSONS WITH

DISABILITIES

In addition to prohibiting discrimination on the basis of

disability, the Executive Law requires persons covered by

the law to undertake efforts to accommodate the needs

of persons with disabilities so they can live in housing.

Speciﬁcally, the Executive Law requires covered persons:

To permit a person with a disability to make reasonable

modiﬁcations of the housing, at the person’s expense, if the

modiﬁcations are necessary to allow the person to have full

enjoyment of the housing.

Example: A landlord permits a person in a wheelchair to

widen the internal doors of his apartment to accommodate

the wheelchair.

To make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies,

practices, or services, when such accommodations are

necessary to permit a person with a disability equal

opportunity to use and enjoy the housing, including

reasonable modiﬁcation to common use portions of

the dwelling.

Example: A landlord makes an exception to a “no pet” policy

to permit a tenant to keep an emotional support animal

where the animal allows the person to use and enjoy their

home.

Example: A landlord provides and pays for the installation

of a ramp at the common entrance way to the building

Must provide that in all buildings constructed after March

13, 1991:

The public and common areas of housing are readily

accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities.

Example: The entry to such a building is accessible to a

person in a wheelchair.

All doors are sufﬁciently wide to allow passage by persons

in wheelchairs.

All multi-family buildings contain accessible passageways,

ﬁxtures, outlets, bathrooms, and kitchens.

Example: Bathroom walls are able to support grab bars.

What Housing is Covered?

The Executive Law applies to nearly all housing

accommodations. The only exceptions are:

Rental units in two-family homes occupied by the owner.

Example: A two-family home where the owner lives in one

of the units is not covered by the Human Rights Law.

Rentals in rooming houses occupied by the owner or

member of the owner’s family.

Example: A rooming house with a resident owner is not

covered by the Human Rights Law.

It is important to remember that although the Executive

Law does not apply to these housing accommodations,

federal or local fair housing laws might apply.

What About Lending

Discrimination?

The Executive Law also prohibits discrimination in connection

with lending, including real estate lending. It is illegal to

discriminate in connection with lending on the basis of the

same characteristics that are protected in connection with the

sale or rental of housing. However, age can be considered in

determining the credit worthiness of an applicant when age

has a demonstrable and statistically sound relationship to

determining credit worthiness. The Executive Law prohibits the

following in connection with an application for a loan for the

purchase, acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, or repair or

maintenance of a home:

Discriminating in granting, withholding, extending, renewing, or

setting the terms, rates, or conditions of the loan.

Example: A lender charges higher interest rates to African

Americans.

Using an application for a loan or making any record or inquiry

about an applicant that expresses any limitation, speciﬁcation,

discrimination.

Example: A credit application asks whether the applicant has

children.

Asking an applicant about her capacity to have children or about

use or advocacy of any form of birth control or family planning.

Example: A loan ofﬁcer asks a couple applying for a loan

whether they plan to have children.

Refusing to consider sources of an applicant’s income or

discounting an applicant’s income because of a protected

characteristic, including childbearing potential.

Example: When considering the loan application of a married

couple, a creditor refuses to consider the income of the wife

because she is of childbearing age.

In connection with considering an applicant’s credit worthiness,

considering statistics or assumptions relating to a protected

characteristic, including the likelihood of bearing children.

Example: A creditor refuses to lend in predominantly minority

neighborhoods.

How Do I Know If My Rights

Have Been Violated?

It is not always easy to tell if your fair housing rights have

been violated. People will rarely come right out and say: “I

will not rent this apartment to you because you are a young

single woman” or “I will not rent the house to you because

you are black and this is a white neighborhood.” Instead, the

signs of discrimination are usually more subtle.

One way to determine if you have been discriminated

against is to seek the help of an agency or organization that

can conduct a test. As the following section illustrates,

some private organizations funded by the U.S. Department

of Housing and Urban Development investigate complaints

of discrimination and can test a real estate agency or

landlord to see if it is discriminating. In a test, the agency

hires pairs of individuals, or testers, to pose as undercover

home seekers. In each pair, the two testers have the same

qualiﬁcations for the housing, but differ in the protected

characteristic that is the basis for the discrimination. If a

person suspects that a real estate agency is discriminating

because she is African American, the testers will have similar

qualiﬁcations for the home seekers, but one tester will be

white and the other will be African American. Each tester

will make a separate trip to the real estate ofﬁce. If the

real estate agent shows the white tester the housing in

question and tells the African American tester that nothing

is available in her price range that is strong evidence of

discrimination.

The following examples are meant to demonstrate when

you might suspect that discrimination has occurred. If

you think discrimination has occurred, you are encouraged

to take action by contacting one of the agencies or

organizations listed in the next section.

Example 1:

Mr. Lowery, a single African American male, is looking for

an apartment. He sees an advertisement in a newspaper

describing an apartment that meets his needs. Mr. Lowery

calls the real estate agency and speaks to Mr. Connor, who

tells Mr. Lowery that the apartment is available and asks

him to come to the ofﬁce to see it. Thirty minutes later, Mr.

Lowery gets to the ofﬁce, identiﬁes himself, and meets Mr.

Connor. Mr. Connor says: “There must be some mistake.”

Mr. Lowery assures him he spoke to him on the phone. Mr.

Connor then asks Mr. Lowery to wait while he checks to

see if the apartment is available. Mr. Connor returns a few

minutes later and informs him that he just checked with the

landlord, and the apartment is no longer available.

Example 2:

Mr. Martin and Ms. Vernon are married. Mr. Martin is

white and Ms. Vernon is African American. They are in the

process of purchasing a co-op apartment. They have signed

a contract and need to meet with the co-op board for ﬁnal

approval. Mr. Martin has been handling all the details of

the transaction and has been assured by the co-op owner,

the building managing agent, and the co-op president, all

of whom he has met, that there will be no problem at the

interview with the co-op board. Ms. Vernon gets to the

interview ﬁrst, and is informed by the co-op president that

she is in the wrong place. She insists she is in the right place

and is Mr. Martin’s wife. The co-op president expresses

surprise. At the interview, a Board member asks Mr. Martin

and Ms. Vernon whether they face hostility because of their

“mixed marriage” and whether it has had any impact on

their children. Ultimately, the Board refused to approve

them for the apartment.

Example 3:

Ms. Abernanthy, an African American, views an apartment

she likes. Afterwards, she calls the real estate agent, Mr.

Davis, and tells him she wants to rent it. Mr. Davis tells

her the apartment is rented. Ms. Abernanthy is suspicious

and asks her friend, who is white, to pose as an apartment

seeker. Her friend goes to the real estate ofﬁce and meets

Mr. Davis, who says the apartment is still available. Ms.

Abernanthy then calls Mr. Davis to confront him. He admits

he lied to Ms. Abernanthy, but claims he lied not because

of her race, but because the landlord did not like Ms.

Abernanthy because she was “pushy” and “aggressive.”

Where Can I Go to

Protect My Rights?

If you suspect you have been the victim of discrimination,

there are a number of government agencies and private

organizations that can help you.

I. Government Agencies

You can ﬁle a discrimination complaint with many differ-

ent government agencies, seeking damages, the housing

in question, and other appropriate relief such as a promise

from the housing provider not to discriminate. You can ﬁle

a complaint on your own. You do not need a lawyer. Under

the Executive Law, you can ﬁle housing or lending discrimi-

nation complaint with:

The New York State

Division of Human Rights

One Fordham Plaza, 4th ﬂoor

Bronx, NY 10458

718- 741- 8400

The New York State

Division of Human Rights

Agency Building 1, 2nd Floor

Empire State Plaza

Albany, New York 12220

(518) 474-2705

The New York State

Division of Human Rights

NYS Ofﬁce Building Annex

44 Hawley Street, 6th Floor

Binghamton, NY 13901-4465

(607) 721-8467

The New York State

Division of Human Rights

55 Hanson Place

Room 304

Brooklyn, NY 11217

(718) 722-2856

The New York State

Division of Human Rights

The Walter J. Mahoney

State Ofﬁce Building

Fifth Floor - Suite 506

65 Court Street

Buffalo, NY 14202

(716) 847-7632

The New York State

Division Of Human Rights

Harlem State Ofﬁce Building

163 West 125th Street - 4th Floor

New York, NY 10027

(212) 961-8650

The New York State

Division Of Human Rights

175 Fulton Avenue

Hempstead, NY 11550

(516) 538-1360

The New York State

Division Of Human Rights

State Ofﬁce Building

Veterans Memorial Highway

Hauppauge, NY 11787

(516) 952-6434

The New York State

Division Of Human Rights

One Monroe Square

259 Monroe Avenue

3rd Floor

Rochester, NY14607

(716) 238-8250

The New York State

Division Of Human Rights

333 East Washington Street

Room 401

Syracuse, NY 13202

(315) 428-4633

The New York State

Division Of Human Rights

8 John Walsh Blvd.

Suite 204

Peekskill, NY 10566

(914) 949-4394

The New York State

Division Of Human Rights

Ofﬁce Of Sexual Harassment Issues

55 Hanson Place, Room 347

Brooklyn, NY 12217

(718) 722-2060

Toll Free Number

1-888-392-3644

The New York State

Division of Housing and

Community Renewal Fair Housing

and Equal Opportunity

25 Beaver Street

New York, NY 10004

(212) 480-6753

Under the Executive Law, you can also ﬁle a lending

discrimination complaint with the Superintendent of Banks

at the following address:

New York State Banking Department

2 Rector Street

New York, NY 10006

(212) 618-6442

Federal law also prohibits housing discrimination. You can ﬁle

a housing discrimination complaint under federal law with:

The United States Department of Housing

and Urban Development

Manhattan:

26 Federal Plaza

Room 3532

New York, NY 10278

(212) 264-5072

Buffalo:

Lafayette Court

465 Main Street

Buffalo, NY 14203

(716) 846-5785

TOLL FREE NUMBER

1-800-496-4294

The Ofﬁce of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity

Department of Housing and Urban Development

451 Seventh Street, S.W.

Room 5116

Washington, D.C. 20410-2000

(202) 708-2878

NATION-WIDE

TOLL FREE NUMBER

1-800-669-9777

You can also ﬁle a complaint with your city, municipality,

or county, if it has a law prohibiting housing or lending

discrimination. You can contact the State Division of Human

Rights for a list of such agencies.

II. Filing a Complaint in a State Court

Finally, you can go to court to assert your fair housing rights

under New York State Law and federal law. You can ﬁle

a housing or lending discrimination lawsuit in either the

federal district court or the New York State Supreme Court

that covers the area where you live.

III. Private Organizations and Attorneys

Many private, not-for-proﬁt organizations are dedicated

to eliminating housing and lending discrimination. If you

suspect you have been discriminated against in housing

or lending, many of these organizations can help you

investigate. These private organizations can conduct a

test of an owner, a real estate agency, or creditor to see if

they are discriminating against you. They can also help you

decide where to ﬁle. Finally, although you do not need a

lawyer to ﬁle a complaint with an agency, you may want to

consult an attorney with expertise in fair housing matters.

Private fair housing organizations often have panels of

cooperating attorneys, and they may be able to refer you

to an attorney. The Fair Housing Initiative Program (FHIP)

provides support to private non-proﬁt organizations located

throughout New York State and to strengthen HUD’s

partnership in enforcing and enhancing compliance with the

nation’s fair housing laws. The following private non-proﬁt

fair housing enforcement organizations are funded by HUD

to undertake testing and other enforcement activities to

prevent and eliminate discriminatory housing practices:

Brooklyn Housing and Family Services, Inc.

415 Albemarle Road

Brooklyn, NY 11218-2351

718-435-7585

Brooklyn Legal Services Corp. A

260 Broadway

Brooklyn, NY 11211-8344

718-487-2328

Buffalo Urban League Inc.

15 Genesee Street

Buffalo, NY 14203-1405

716-250-2402

Fair Housing Council of Central New York, Inc.

328 W. Fayette Street

Syracuse, NY 13202-1265

315-471-0420

Fair Housing Justice Center, Inc.

5 Hanover Square, 17th Floor

New York, NY 10004-2682

212-400-8201

Housing Council in the Monroe County Area, Inc.

75 College Avenue

Rochester, NY 14607-1009

585-546-3700

Housing Opportunities Made Equal, Inc.

1542 Main Street

Buffalo, NY 14209-1926

716-854-1400 ext. 23

Legal Assistance of Western NY, Inc.

Marcelle Johnson

361 S Main Street

Geneva, NY 14456

315-781-1465

mjohnson@lawny.org

Legal Services NYC Staten Island

36 Richmond Terrace

Staten Island, NY 10301-1934

718-233-6490

Long Island Housing Services, Inc.

640 Johnson Avenue

Bohemia, NY 11716-2624

631-567-5111 X316

LSNY-Bronx Corporation dba Legal

Services NYC-Bronx

579 Courtlandt Avenue

Bronx, NY 10451-5013

718-928-2894

Neighborhood Economic Development

Advocacy Project, Inc.

176 Grand Street, Suite 300

New York, NY 10013-3786

212-680-5100

MFY Legal Services, Inc.

299 Broadway, 4th Floor

New York, NY 10007

212-417-3700

Each court and agency has a different deadline, known as a

“statute of limitations,” by which you must ﬁle a complaint

in order to protect your rights.

You have one year from the date the discriminatory act

occurred to ﬁle an administrative complaint with the State

Division of Human Rights, the Department of Housing and

Urban Development, or the Superintendent of Banks.

You have two years to ﬁle a lawsuit under the federal Fair

Housing Act. (There is less time to ﬁle a claim under the

Federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act (two years) and more

time to ﬁle a claim under the federal Civil Rights Act (three

years).

If you need immediate action to protect your right to buy

or rent the particular housing in question, the Executive

Law permits the Division of Human Rights to act immedi-

ately. Alternatively you can ﬁle a lawsuit yourself and seek

a temporary restraining order in a court. When you want to

protect your right to buy or lease the particular housing in

question, you should ﬁle your complaint right away.

When Do I Have to File a Complaint?