Source of Income Discrimination: The NY Rule Most Candidates Miss

Refusing a tenant because they pay with a housing voucher is unlawful in New York. It is not one of the seven federal protected classes — which is exactly why national prep courses leave it out and the New York exam puts it in.

Start with the federal seven

The federal Fair Housing Act protects seven classes. Nearly every prep course in the country teaches these, and you should know them cold:

Familial status is the one people forget: it protects households with children under 18, and pregnant people. A landlord advertising “adults only” is describing a violation, not a preference.

What New York adds on top

Here is where candidates studying from national material get caught. New York’s Human Rights Law protects additional classes beyond the federal seven, including:

• Age
• Marital status
• Military status
• Source of income
• Sexual orientation
• Gender identity or expression
• Domestic violence victim status

Individual localities — New York City in particular — protect further categories still. For exam purposes, the point to internalise is directional: New York protects more than the federal minimum, so an answer that lists only the federal seven is frequently the wrong answer.

Source of income, specifically

Source of income protection means a housing provider may not refuse an applicant because of where their lawful income comes from. That covers housing vouchers (including Section 8), Social Security, disability payments, alimony, child support, veterans’ benefits, and other lawful sources.

Practically, this means:

• “No vouchers” or “no programs” in a listing is a violation.
• Refusing to show a unit once a voucher is mentioned is a violation, even if no formal application was ever made.
• Applying a stricter income multiple to voucher holders than to other applicants is a violation.
• Telling an applicant the unit is “no longer available” after they mention a voucher is a violation — and it is also the classic fact pattern for a fair housing tester.

A housing provider may still apply neutral, consistently enforced criteria — credit history, references, prior evictions — as long as those standards are applied the same way to everyone. The rule prohibits treating the source of the money differently, not screening tenants at all.

The three prohibited practices, and how they read in a question

The exam usually presents these as scenarios rather than definitions, and the agent in the scenario is usually described as well-intentioned. Intent is not the test. An agent who only shows a family with children buildings that already have children is steering, regardless of motive.

Advertising traps

Fair housing violations frequently appear in advertising questions, because a listing puts the discriminatory preference in writing.

• “Perfect for a young professional” — implicates age and potentially familial status.
• “Ideal for a mature couple” — age and marital status.
• “Walking distance to St. Mary’s” — can imply religious preference.
• “No Section 8” — source of income.
• “Quiet building, no kids” — familial status.

The safe pattern: describe the property, never the desired occupant. “Two bedrooms, third floor, no elevator” is a description. “Better for someone without young children” is a preference, and it is unlawful.

Separately — and unrelated to fair housing but tested alongside it — New York prohibits blind ads. Every advertisement must identify the brokerage. An ad that reads as though a private owner placed it, when in fact a licensee did, is a license law violation.

How this shows up on the exam

• “Which of these is NOT a federally protected class?” — read carefully; New York additions are commonly the correct answer to a “not federal” question.
• “May a landlord refuse a housing voucher in New York?” — no.
• Scenario questions where an agent steers with good intentions — still a violation.
• Advertising questions — find the phrase describing the occupant rather than the property.
• Co-op board questions — board discretion does not override fair housing law. See our guide to co-ops vs condos.

Fair housing is one of the largest topic areas on the New York exam and one of the easiest to over-estimate your knowledge of, because the federal seven feel like the whole answer. They are not. If your study material was written for a national audience, this is the gap — our free New York quick reference PDF lists the New York additions on one page.