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City of Albany Fair Housing Office
All residents of the City of Albany deserve fair and equal access to housing.
Fair housing is having a choice to live where you want and where you can afford without the fear or threat of discrimination. It is illegal to discriminate in the sale or rental of housing in the United States, in the State of New York and in the City of Albany.
The federal Fair Housing Act, the New York State Human Rights Law, and the City of Albany Omnibus Human Rights Law all prohibit housing discrimination by housing providers (including owners, real estate agents, managing agents, building superintendents, cooperative and condominium boards) and lenders (including banks and mortgage companies).
Specifically, The New York State Human Rights Law makes it unlawful to discriminate based upon a person or group’s race, creed, color, disability, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military status, age, sex, marital status, lawful source of income or familial status in all forms of housing.
The City of Albany is committed to protecting all of our residents from housing discrimination and maintains the Fair Housing Office where complaints of housing discrimination can be made and investigated. The Fair Housing Officer for the City of Albany is a neutral 3rd party, who does not represent either party in a discrimination claim, and is not an attorney. Rather the Fair Housing Officer’s duty is to carry out the investigation process of a housing discrimination claim according to fair housing and human rights law. During the discrimination claim process, the Fair Housing Officer will inform people of their rights and what remedies are provided under these laws. The goal of the investigation is to gather evidence and testimony to prove or disprove a claim of discrimination. If the Fair Housing Officer’s investigation suggests that there has been a discriminatory act, the goal then is to correct any wrongdoing through cooperative agreement, conciliation, or referral to NYS Human Rights Division.
Housing discrimination is illegal. Learn your rights and responsibilities.
If you believe you have been the victim of discrimination, contact us to file a complaint.
Fair Housing Office
Department of Neighborhood and Community Services
200 Henry Johnson Blvd.
Albany, NY 12210.
Phone: (518) 807-1998
Email: aahrens@albanyny.gov
Make a Fair Housing Claim (PDF)
Fair housing refers to the federal, state, and local laws that protect certain groups of people from being treated unequally, which aim to eliminate barriers in obtaining and preserving housing. The act of treating people unequally in housing related activities because they belong to certain groups is referred to as housing discrimination.
The Fair Housing Act is the federal law that provides protection from housing discrimination for people who are renting or buying a home, applying for a mortgage, seeking housing assistance, or engaging in other housing-related activities.
Who is covered?
The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate against someone because of their:
- Race or color
- National origin
- Disability
- Sex (Including gender identity and expression)
- Familial Status
- Religion
In addition to federal laws, New York State and the City of Albany include protections against housing discrimination because of someone’s:
- Age
- Lawful source of income
- Marital or domestic partner status
- Domestic violence victim status
- Military status
- Immigration or citizenship status
- Arrest record (as it relates to another protected category)
What are the exceptions to fair housing in the City of Albany?
You are not protected from housing discrimination if the discriminatory act happened in a:
- Single family home sold or rented by the owner without an agent.
- Owner-occupied rental units in two-family homes.
- Owner-occupied (or family-of-owner-occupied) rooming house rentals.
- Housing operated by religious organizations or private clubs that limit occupancy to only members. This includes rooming rentals for individuals of the same sex and housing intended exclusively for people over 55 years of age.
*Everyone must comply with advertising requirements under the Fair Housing Act unless the property is exclusively housing people who are over 55 years of age.
What is prohibited?
In the sale and rental of housing it is illegal for anyone who sells, rents, or leases housing (including but not limited to owners, tenants, subtenants, managing agents, real estate brokers, real estate agents) to take any of the following discriminatory actions against a protected class:
- Refuse to rent, sell, or lease housing
- Refuse to negotiate for housing
- Otherwise make housing unavailable
- Set different terms, conditions or privileges for sale or rental of a dwelling
- Provide a person different housing services or facilities
- Falsely deny that housing is available for inspection, sale or rental
- Make, print or publish any notice, statement or advertisement with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation or discrimination
- Impose different sales prices or rental charges for the sale or rental of a dwelling
- Use different qualification criteria or applications, or sale or rental standards or procedures, such as income standards, application requirements, application fees, credit analyses, sale or rental approval procedures or other requirements
- Evict a tenant or a tenant’s guest
- Harass a person
- Fail or delay performance of maintenance or repairs
- Limit privileges, services or facilities of a dwelling
- Discourage the purchase or rental of a dwelling
- Assign a person to a particular building or neighborhood or section of a building or neighborhood
- For profit, persuade, or try to persuade, homeowners to sell their homes by suggesting that people of a particular protected characteristic are about to move into the neighborhood (blockbusting)
- Refuse to provide or discriminate in the terms or conditions of homeowners insurance because of the race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, familial status, or national origin of the owner and/or occupants of a dwelling
- Deny access to or membership in any multiple listing service or real estate brokers’ organization
In mortgage lending it is illegal to take any of the following discriminatory actions against a protected class, such as:
- Refuse to make a mortgage loan or provide other financial assistance for a dwelling
- Refuse to provide information regarding loans
- Impose different terms or conditions on a loan, such as different interest rates, points, or fees
- Discriminate in appraising a dwelling
- Condition the availability of a loan on a person’s response to harassment
- Refuse to purchase a loan
Additional protections under the Fair Housing Act make it illegal to harass anyone based on a protected category, in addition to sexual harassment.
It is also illegal to:
- Threaten, coerce, intimidate or interfere with anyone exercising a fair housing right or assisting others who exercise the right.
- Retaliate against a person who has filed a fair housing complaint or assisted in a fair housing investigation.
In advertising it is illegal to:
- Make, print and publish advertisements that indicate a preference, limitation or discrimination because of a protected category. This applies to publishers, as well as persons and entities who place real estate advertisements in newspapers and on websites.
There are additional protections for people with disabilities that require housing providers to make reasonable accommodations and allow reasonable modifications that may be necessary to allow persons with disabilities to enjoy their housing. Certain multifamily housing must be accessible to persons with disabilities.
Fair Housing Laws & Regulations
Federal:
U. S. Housing & Urban Development Fair Housing & Related Laws
New York State:
City of Albany:
People looking to file a housing discrimination complaint in the City of Albany with the Fair Housing Office can do so by:
Email: aahrens@albanyny.gov
Phone: (518) 807-1998
(Including relay or interpretation service)
Coming to the Office:
200 Henry Johnson Blvd., Albany, NY 12210
Here on our website:
Fair Housing Office Complaint Form
Although helpful, filling out a discrimination complaint form is not required to get help from the Fair Housing Office. Any communication made to the Office will be followed up by the Fair Housing Officer, with or without a formal complaint being filed, provided there is contact information to reach them.
For third party agency referrals:
If you are an agency trying to get help for someone who has experienced, or is about to experience housing discrimination, please email the following information to the Fair Housing Officer:
- Contact information of the person alleging discrimination,
- Address of the property associated with the discriminatory act, and
- Incident details.
Please provide the person looking to file a discrimination claim with the Fair Housing Officer’s business card or contact information. Housing discrimination complaint referrals should be given to the Officer as soon as possible, or within five business days. When the Officer receives the complaint, they will reach out to the complainant to start the intake process within 10 days of receiving the compliant.
Fair Housing Agencies
Office of the New York State Attorney General Civil Rights Bureau
- Address: 28 Liberty Street, New York NY 10005
- Phone: 212-416-8250
- Toll Free: 1-800-788-9898 (TDD)
- Website: https://ag.ny.gov/resources/individuals/civil-rights/housing-discrimination
New York State Division of Human Rights
- Address: One Fordham Plaza, 4th Floor, Bronx NY 10458
- Toll Free: 1-888-392-3644
- Phone: 718-741-8300 (TDD/TTY)
- Website: https://dhr.ny.gov/
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Housing Enforcement Center
- Address: 26 Federal Plaza, Room 3541, New York NY 10278-0068
- Phone: 212-264-8000
- Alternate Phone: 212-264-0927 (TTY)
- Website: https://www.hud.gov/
City of Albany Housing Resource
Neighborhood & Community Services
- Ashley Hilaire, Housing Services Advocate
- Address: 200 Henry Johnson Boulevard, Albany, NY, 12210
- Email: ahilaire@albanyny.gov
- Phone: (518) 540-2472
Rental Assistance & Housing Resources
These are only potential sources of rental assistance funding or housing opportunities. Funding may not be available and is not guaranteed.
United Tenants of Albany
- Phone: (518) 436-8997 x3
- Address: 255 Orange St, Albany, NY 12210
- Email: hotline@unitedtenantsalbany.org
- Website: www.utalbany.org
Albany Community Action Partnership
- Phone: (518) 463-3175
- Address: 333 Sheridan Ave, Albany, NY 12206
- Email: info@albanycap.org
- Website: www.albanycap.org
Albany County Department of Social Services
- Phone: (518) 447-7300
- Address: 162 Washington Ave, Albany, NY 12210
- Website: www.albanycounty.com/departments/social-services
Albany Housing Authority
- Phone: (518) 641-7500
- Address: 200 S Pearl St, Albany, NY 12202
- Website: www.albanyhousing.org
Catholic Charities Tri-County Services
- Phone: (518) 512-3577
- Address: 50 Herrick St, Rensselaer, NY 12144
- Website: www.cchoalbany.org
Homeless and Travelers Aid Society
- Phone: (518) 463-2124
- Address: 138 Central Ave, Albany, NY 12206
- Email: info@hatas.org
- Website: www.hatas.org
Legal Aid Services of Northeastern New York
- Phone: (833) 628-0087
- Address: 95 Central Ave, Albany, NY 12206
- Website: www.lasnny.org
Trinity Alliance
- Phone: (518) 449-5155
- Address: 15 Trinity Pl, Albany, NY 12202
- Website: www.trinityalliance.org
As required by the City of Albany Fair Housing Ordinance § 187-6H, each year the Fair Housing Officer shall publish a written report of all of its activities and of its recommendations. If you have any questions about the report, please contact the Fair Housing Officer. Phone: (518) 807-1998, Email: aahrens@albanyny.gov