REAL ESTATE FIRM ACCUSED OF IGNORING VOUCHER HOLDERS
The Fair Housing Justice Center (FHJC) has filed a new source-of-income discrimination lawsuit against Skyward Steel LLC, a real estate brokerage firm for numerous rental properties across New York City.
The complaint is based on a four-month FHJC investigation launched in 2023 in which FHJC testers contacted Skyward agents online regarding listings for apartments in four different buildings. All testers received similar initial responses, apparently auto-generated, detailing income and credit guidelines. Notably, the message also stated that these guidelines would be waived for applicants using “Section 8 vouchers or other government subsidies,” according to the complaint.
Despite this statement from Skyward, FHJC testers who then disclosed to the agents that they would be using vouchers were completely ignored. Their follow-up messages to the Skyward agents went unanswered, even though their voucher amount covered the entire rent.
By contrast, the complaint alleges, testers who responded that their income was solely from employment were responded to promptly, shown the apartments, and invited to apply.
The lawsuit stems from a complaint from Ms. J, who joins FHJC as a plaintiff. Ms. J is a single mother living in a shelter provided by the CHiPS program, which provides transitional homes for prenatal and postpartum women and their young children. In 2022, she received a CityFHEPS housing subsidy enabling her to seek housing while she attended to her medical needs, including multiple surgeries.
According to the complaint, Ms. J contacted Skyward agents on two occasions regarding apartments advertised online. She received the same treatment as the FHJC testers who claimed to be using vouchers. Skyward agents completely ghosted her, even after she informed them that they were violating fair housing laws against source-of-income discrimination.
The full complaint was filed in November 24, 2025 in New York State Supreme Court. It can be read HERE.
FHJC Legal Director David M. Berman asked, “Why would a brokerage include language in their messages acknowledging the rights of voucher holders only to hide their heads in the sand when actual voucher holders – who are in desperate need of a decent home – try to apply for apartments that they fully qualify for? Skyward’s callous attitude is harming the most vulnerable among us.”
According to attorney David B. Berman, “Skyward is refusing to rent to the City’s most vulnerable populations after they have gone through the laborious process of obtaining vouchers meant to help protect them from homelessness. This is the exact conduct the New York City Human Rights Law prohibits, and Skyward will be held accountable for its brazen refusal to follow the law.”
The FHJC and Ms. J are represented by Mr. Berman and Peter Romer-Friedman with Peter Romer-Friedman Law PLLC, and by Marissa Benavides, and Matthew B. Borden with BraunHagey & Borden LLP.
The mission of the FHJC, a nonprofit civil rights organization, is to eliminate housing discrimination; promote policies and programs that foster open, accessible, and inclusive communities; and strengthen enforcement of fair housing laws in the New York City region.