How and where to file a housing discrimination complaint

Consider your options:

Before filing a complaint, please consider discussing your options with a fair housing advocate, like the counselors at WRO. You can reach out to us at info@wroinc.org or by phone at 914-428-4507 ext. 339.

Where to file:

Federal and State Courts:  You can file a lawsuit in federal or state court. We strongly recommend that you consult with an attorney about that first.

Administrative Agencies:  You can also file a complaint with administrative agencies of the federal, state and in Westchester County, the county governments. Typically you should file your complaint with only one of these agencies.

Federal:  At the federal level, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) accepts and investigates fair housing complaints. You can file a complaint online at https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/online-complaint or call the Housing Discrimination Hotline at (800) 669-9777. HUD has a specific complaint form, which you can fine online by following the link above.

New York State:  In New York, the New York State Division of Human Rights accepts and investigates fair housing complaints:  You can file online (or just learn more about the process) at https://dhr.ny.gov/complaint or by phone at 1-888-392-3644.

In addition to the NYS Division of Human Rights, if your complaint regards lawful source of income discrimination, you can also file a complaint with the New York State Attorney General’s office, which can investigate source of income discrimination. The Attorney General has a specific complaint form for source of income discrimination, which you can complete online at https://ag.ny.gov/source-income-discrimination-form.

Westchester County:  If your complaint involves housing discrimination in Westchester County, the Westchester County Human Rights Commission accepts and investigates fair housing complaints.  You can learn about how to file a complaint at https://humanrights.westchestergov.com/file-a-complaint, or by contacting the Human Rights Commission by email at humanrights@westchestergov.com or by phone at 914-995-7710.

RETALIATION IS ILLEGAL. Remember, regardless of where you file a fair housing complaint, it is illegal for anyone to retaliate against you for filing that complaint.