LISTEN: A Housing Voucher Debacle

Are landlords required to follow housing voucher laws issued by the city or the state?

On the latest episode of The Real Deal’s “Deconstruct” podcast, policy and politics reporter Caroline Spivack joins hosts Lilah Burke and Hannah Kramer to discuss the implications of a recent New York state appeals court decision to strike down a state law banning discrimination against Section 8 voucher holders.

The court ruled the state law violated the Fourth Amendment rights of landlords since it subjected them to mandatory property inspections without a warrant.

But as Spivack explains, New York City has its own source-of-income discrimination law. Legal observers don’t know how the state decision will impact the city rules, especially with an appeal likely coming down the pike.

“There’s stakes for landlords, there’s stakes for tenants and then there’s big picture stakes across the country,” Spivack said, noting that nearly half of the states in the country have source-of-income discrimination laws on the books.

“It’s just going to be a mess if this ruling stands,” she added.

In addition to joining “Deconstruct,” Spivack is working on TRD’s latest initiative, the Policy Pro product. Her newsletter, which is expected to expand to a daily blast, dives deeply into the policy decisions that shape New York, both at the state and city level.

The newsletters will include weekly analysis and help readers cut through the weeds to explain what is truly happening in the halls of government and what matters most to the industry.

The “Deconstruct” episode also breaks down a busy week in real estate news: developers face the consequences for alleged fraud of the 421a tax abatement program, Los Angeles’ ballyhooed Measure ULA (the mansion tax) comes back up for debate, Massachusetts weighs a rent control ballot measure and the feared exodus of wealthy New Yorkers in the wake of Zohran Mamdani’s election faces the reality of the data.

Be sure to check out “Deconstruct” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and wherever else you listen to podcasts.