Buffalo Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers are administered by BMHA and Belmont Housing Resources, with landlords required to accept vouchers under NY source-of-income protections and pass HUD habitability inspections before tenant move-in.
The Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority (BMHA) and Belmont Housing Resources for WNY administer the federal Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program for Buffalo and Erie County. Landlords accepting vouchers must pass HUD Housing Quality Standards inspections covering heating, plumbing, electrical, and lead-paint compliance, particularly important in Buffalo's older pre-1978 housing stock. Voucher holders pay roughly 30 percent of income toward rent; HUD covers the remainder up to local payment standards. NY source-of-income law (Exec Law §296) prohibits voucher refusal. Inspection failures must be cured within thirty days or HUD payments cease.
Refusing voucher tenants violates NY Human Rights Law, while accepting payments without passing HUD HQS inspections constitutes federal program fraud and triggers immediate payment suspension.
Buffalo, NY
New York's 2019 Human Rights Law amendment and Buffalo Code Ch. 218 prohibit landlords from refusing tenants because their rent comes from Section 8 vouchers...
Buffalo, NY
Buffalo requires all rental dwellings to be registered and inspected under the Rental Dwelling Licensing program administered by Permit & Inspection Services...
See how Buffalo's section 8 voucher acceptance rules stack up against other locations.
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