Dutchess apartments accused of housing discrimination

New York State has sued a rental housing company for allegedly excluding prospective tenants who use public housing vouchers to help pay for rents at two Dutchess County properties.

The state Division of Human Rights accused Dawn Homes Management, of Albany, of violating a state law that requires landlords to accept any lawful source of income, including governmental public assistance that is meant to make rents affordable.

“The actions and practices of defendant have contributed to unlawful discrimination in housing,” the complaint states, “and jeopardize the welfare, health and peace of the citizens of the state of New York.”

Dawn Homes operates 38 rental complexes with more than 7,000 apartments in four states, according to the complaint. The lawsuit concerns seven properties in New York, including Chelsea Ridge Apartments in Wappingers Falls and Village Park Apartments in Pleasant Valley.

The complaint was filed on Aug. 27 in Supreme Court, Bronx, where the Division of Human Rights has an office.

The case is based on an investigation by Westchester Residential Opportunities Inc., a White Plains nonprofit organization that promotes equal, affordable and accessible housing.

WRO used testers posing as prospective tenants with federally-funded housing vouchers.

The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher subsidizes rent for low income individuals, senior citizens and disabled people on fixed income, displaced families, and the homeless. The Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS voucher also provides rental assistance.

From August 2019 to May 2021, WRO testers called leasing agents for seven Dawn Homes properties in New York.

For example, different testers called Chelsea Ridge Apartments five times in a year-and-a-half. One tester was allegedly told, “We’ve never worked with any of the programs because usually [Dawn’s minimum] income requirement is too high.”

Another caller was told that the applicant had to make at least $55,620 a year, even though the tester’s voucher would have covered 75% of the rent.

An agent for the Village Park Apartments allegedly said the caller had to have income of at least 3 to 3.5 times the monthly rent. “The agent suggested that the tester look at other apartment complexes in the area that accepted vouchers and were not owned or operated by [Dawn Homes].”

In 2019, New York made it unlawful for landlords, property managers and brokers to refuse to rent an apartment because of a prospective tenant’s lawful source of income, including Section 8 and AIDS vouchers.

The state accused Dawn Homes of discrimination in rental housing due to source of income.

It wants the court to declare that the company’s practices violate the state Human Rights Law and to require the company to cease discriminatory practices. It is asking for $10,000 in punitive damages to deter housing law violations and up to $100,000 in fines and penalties.

Dawn Homes did not reply to a message asking for its side of the story. A declaration posted on its website states: “DHM Properties remains committed to the compliance of all federal, state, and local fair housing laws and continuously develops and implements policies to ensure these compliances.”