Governor Hochul Announces Guidelines to Combat Discrimination in the Affordable Housing Market

Guidance informs insurers that they are prohibited from inquiring about coverage or making decisions based on a property’s status as an affordable housing development or a tenant’s source of income.

Builds on the Governor’s FY 2025 budget agreement to address discrimination against affordable housing providers and Section 8 housing choice voucher recipients.

Read the circular letter Here

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced new guidance informing insurers that they are prohibited from inquiring about or making coverage decisions based on a property’s status as an affordable housing development or on a tenant’s level or source of income in the building, such as government assistance. The guidance from the New York State Department of Financial Services follows legislation obtained by Governor Hochul in the FY 2025 budget to prohibit insurance discrimination based on renters’ source of income or the existence of affordable housing within the building.

“With this new guidance, we are putting insurers on notice: New York will not tolerate bias against our affordable housing providers. » » said Governor Hochul. “Insurance discrimination drives up costs for homeowners and renters and puts countless affordable housing units at risk. My administration is stepping up enforcement of all kinds of housing discrimination to ensure fairness in our housing market and keep costs low for all New Yorkers.

Adrienne A. Harris, New York State Superintendent of Financial Services said, “This is a critical step in ensuring that New York’s affordable housing providers are not discriminated against.. I am incredibly proud of the work this department has done to combat discrimination, in support of our mission to build a more equitable financial services system.

RuthAnne Visnauskas, New York State Commissioner of Housing and Community Renewal, said: “Across New York, renters face barriers to housing based on their source of income, including Section 8 voucher status. Stigma against Section 8 voucher recipients and tenants who live in affordable housing is discriminatory, whether it is done by an insurer to set insurance rates or by a housing provider to exclude residents from housing. This law championed by the Governor will ensure that discrimination is not tolerated in New York, creating pathways to access and affordability for both renters and housing providers. This is another step toward ensuring that our investments in affordable housing are not diminished by excessive insurance costs, allowing us to continue providing housing opportunities to New Yorkers.

Insurers are prohibited from inquiring about or considering, canceling, refusing to issue or renew, increasing the premium, or excluding, limiting, restricting or reducing coverage based on of :

The presence of affordable housing units in the building for residents with a specific income level under a government agreement;
Receipt of government rental assistance by the owner or tenants of a residential rental property, or the shareholders of a cooperative housing society;
The level or source of income of the residents of the building; Or
Whether the building is owned by a limited capital cooperative, a public housing agency or a cooperative housing society, subject to certain provisions of the Private Housing Finance Act.

This important legislation follows a report released in November 2022 in which DFS, in collaboration with New York State Homes and Community Renewal, examined the practices of property and casualty insurance companies regarding buildings housing affordable or subsidized housing. Additionally, both agencies have worked with affordable housing developers, who have reported experiencing significant premium increases or having difficulty obtaining policies for affordable developments.

For a copy of the circular letter, please visit the DFS website.

Governor Hochul Housing Program

This new DFS guidance builds on Governor Hochul’s commitment to building and preserving New York’s affordable housing supply, protecting New York’s renters from price gouging and high housing costs, and respond to the current housing crisis. As part of the FY 2025 budget, Governor Hochul reached a historic housing deal to increase New York’s housing supply, protect renters and homeowners, and combat discrimination against Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher recipients and affordable housing providers. Additionally, the governor secured funding for a five-year, $25 billion housing plan to build and preserve 100,000 units of affordable housing as part of the FY 2023 budget.

This guidance also builds on the Governor’s fair housing agenda to eliminate housing discrimination in New York State. The Governor announced a $2.2 million expansion of New York’s Fair Housing Testing Program, designed to eliminate discrimination in housing rental and sales transactions. New York is partnering with six nonprofits across the state to deploy undercover testers who will act as potential tenants and housing seekers. The expansion increased the state’s ability to proactively investigate suspected housing discrimination and strengthen education and outreach efforts on fair housing rights and requirements to landlords, tenants, real estate professionals and local governments. The Governor also signed historic legislation to increase protections for New Yorkers from housing discrimination.

New Yorkers experiencing illegal housing discrimination can file a complaint with DHR online or by calling 1-888-392-3644.

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