Former landlord settles income source discrimination case | Long Island Business News

The former owners of a rental complex in Holbrook have settled a source of income housing discrimination complaint with a $30,000 payment. 

Long Island Housing Services brought the complaint against Saddle Rock Apartments, LLC and Sun Lakes Development Corp., which had owned the 310-unit apartment complex at 1000 Saddle Rock Road.  

LIHS had initiated testing in 2021 against Saddle Rock Apartments over concerns regarding barriers in housing choices, according to an organization statement. Testers posing as prospective renters having Housing Choice vouchers were told that vouchers were not accepted, which is illegal housing discrimination protected under New York Human Rights Law. 

Human rights laws in New York State, and both Nassau and Suffolk counties, prohibit discrimination based on a lawful source of income. Source of income discrimination occurs when a housing provider refuses to accept a lawful source of income, including, but not limited to, Supplemental Social Income (SSI), Social Security Disability (SSD), Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program, Nursing Home Transition, and Diversion (NHTD) Housing Subsidy, Olmstead Housing Subsidy (OHS), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Medicaid Waiver program, or child support, according to LIHS. 

“It is shocking that Long Island Housing Services is still exposing so many examples of explicit housing discrimination based on source of income. It has been outlawed in Nassau and Suffolk counties for a decade,” Ian Wilder, director of LIHS, said in the statement. “By now, landlords should know better than to tell prospective tenants that they do not accept vouchers. It is the job of housing providers to educate themselves about the law as part of their business. Maybe we need education requirements for landlords similar to what is required for real estate agents.” 

Sun Lake Development, which sold Saddle Rock Apartments in early 2022 to a different company, agreed to enter into the private settlement agreement with LIHS. Since Sun Lake is no longer the owner, the usual equitable relief, which usually consists of policy changes that include their adopting a non-discriminatory fair housing policy, displaying compliance with fair housing laws, and providing fair housing training to their employees and agents, was not requested.   

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