Rochester, NY Rental Property Rules: Source-of-Income Discrimination (2026)

Section 63-5C of the Human Rights chapter makes it an unlawful discriminatory practice, based on actual or perceived source of income, for an owner, lessee, sublessee, assignee, managing agent, real estate broker or salesperson to refuse to show, sell, rent or lease housing, or to receive and transmit a bona fide offer to do so. The same subsection bars excluding, denying, restricting, limiting, segregating or otherwise differentiating against a tenant in the terms, conditions or privileges of a rental, or in the facilities and services that come with it, and bars advertising or application forms that signal an intent to discriminate on that basis.

Section 63-2 defines 'source of income' broadly: wages from lawful employment, pensions, annuities, public assistance, supplemental security income, Social Security disability insurance, unemployment benefits, Housing Choice Vouchers (the program formerly called Section 8), any other housing voucher or subsidy program, and any other governmental or charitable subsidy. The ordinance, added by Ord. No. 2017-163 on June 20, 2017, carves out real exceptions under § 63-5D: landlords may still ask for disclosures required by other federal, state or local law tied to a subsidy program, may apply income-sufficiency or on-time-payment screening criteria equally to all applicants regardless of income source (including turning away someone who missed lease payments in 18 of the preceding months), and may refuse a tenant whose income comes from an illegal source.

Outside those carve-outs, a landlord cannot reject a Housing Choice Voucher holder, or any applicant paying with a public or charitable subsidy, simply because of how they pay rent.