INJUNCTIVE RELIEF INCLUDES COMMITMENT TO ASSIST VOUCHER HOLDERS

The Fair Housing Justice Center (FHJC) announced today that the parties have entered a conciliation agreement in FHJC’s complaint at the New York State Division of Human Rights (DHR) accusing real estate brokerage firm Urban Pads LLC of source of income discrimination at eight apartment buildings in Brooklyn.

The settlement was approved by DHR on October 10, 2025. It can be read in full HERE.

During a 2022 investigation, Urban Pads brokers consistently ghosted FHJC testers who posed as potential tenants using rental subsidy vouchers, the complaint alleged, while providing prompt enthusiastic service to testers who claimed their income was derived solely from employment.

While denying the allegations, Urban Pads agreed to pay $40,000 and participate in injunctive relief including:

• Acknowledging their duty to not discriminate under fair housing laws, including refraining from retaliating against any person for exercising their fair housing rights
• Prominently displaying DHR’s regulatory poster in their places of business
• Adopting an equal housing opportunity policy which will be displayed in their places of business and distributed to all managing partners, employees, and agents
• Fair housing training for Urban Pads licensed broker Levi Cohen, along with a letter of discipline placed in his file
• Assisting the FHJC for three years in placing people with rental subsidies into residential housing in New York
• Including fair housing logos and/or language in all advertisements, applications, and handouts
• Cooperating with DHR inspections and monitoring to ensure compliance with the settlement

FHJC Legal Director David Berman noted the settlement’s requirement to work with the FHJC to assist voucher holders. “We are gratified that the Defendants have committed to actively helping place voucher holders into housing. For too long, too many New York brokers and companies have ignored the law and treated voucher holders as ‘less-than.’ We will continue fighting for these qualified home seekers to be treated with the respect and dignity they deserve.”

“We hope this is a step forward towards ensuring that New Yorkers are treated fairly regardless of their source of income and that there is accountability for brokers who do not comply with the law,” stated attorney Daniel Mullkoff. The FHJC was represented by Mr. Mullkoff and Mariann Meier Wang with the law firm Wang Hecker 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.