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

Chapter 8 of the Revised General Ordinances, the city's 'Fair Practices Law,' was originally enacted as Local Law No. 17-1990 to bar discrimination based on sexual orientation and was amended by Local Law No. 7-2016 (effective November 7, 2016) to add 'lawful source of income' as a protected category in housing. ' Section 8-4(5) bars an owner, lessee, or managing agent of publicly assisted housing from refusing to rent or otherwise discriminating because of source of income, and Section 8-4(7)(a) extends the same ban to owners, lessees, and agents of any housing accommodation 'constructed or to be constructed,' reaching the private rental market generally.

A carve-out tied to subsection seven exempts a building with no more than two family units where the owner or the owner's family occupies one unit, and exempts an owner-occupant renting a room or rooms within their own home. Section 8-1's legislative findings cite the federal Housing Choice Voucher program directly, noting that 'more than five million people utilize Section 8 vouchers' nationwide and that, before this local law, 'the state, and federal governments have not yet to enacted any human rights laws' protecting voucher holders from housing discrimination.