Watchdog group targets Section 8 discrimination in Chicago area
CHICAGO - The Housing Rights Initiative, a national nonprofit advocating for fair and affordable housing, has filed the largest housing discrimination case in Illinois history. In total, 176 complaints have been lodged against 165 real estate agents, landlords, and brokerage firms—accused of denying opportunities to housing applicants utilizing Housing Choice Vouchers.
The complaints were filed Monday with the Illinois Department of Human Rights after a nine-month undercover investigation in which the watchdog group posed as prospective renters in Chicago and its suburbs.
What we know:
To conduct the investigation, the Housing Rights Initiative (HRI) trained a team of undercover investigators, who posed as prospective tenants. They contacted hundreds of brokers and landlords by text or via messaging apps to determine whether they were complying with the Illinois Human Rights Act.
The investigation uncovered numerous instances where real estate agents, landlords, and brokerage firms allegedly refused to consider applicants using Section 8 housing vouchers, a violation of Illinois law.
"HRI found that 36 percent of the time in the Chicago area, people who are trying to use vouchers would be denied by the landlord or the broker," said Peter Romer-Friedman, principal & founder, Peter Romer-Friedman Law LLC.
Romer-Friedman, one of the attorneys representing HRI, explains that housing vouchers are disproportionately held by families, people with disabilities, seniors, and people of color.
"Low-income families are struggling in every city in America to get by," Romer-Friedman said. "It can be a heartbreaking thing for a low-income family to wait for months or even years to get a housing voucher that will give them more opportunity, and then not be able to use it."
Screenshots that HRI catalogued as part of its investigation show that in many cases, once the undercover prospective renter mentioned using a Section 8 voucher, the realtor or landlord changed their tune.
"We really owe it to these federal housing programs and the people who would get the benefits of housing to open the doors of opportunity rather than to slam the door because someone says, ‘I need to use a voucher to get an apartment,’" Romer-Friedman said.
The complaints aim to address and end these practices.
"At the end of the day, if families can’t use these vouchers, they may end up homeless, their kids might have to change their school, and that’s a really tragic result in a program that’s actually very helpful to millions of people and the landlords and brokers who could take these vouchers," Romer-Friedman said.
He added: "You’ve got to enforce the law and if landlords and brokers and real estate companies feel they can do whatever they want and shut the door on people who need vouchers to get housing, what’s the law worth?"
The backstory:
The Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8) is a federal program designed to assist low-income families, seniors, and individuals with disabilities in securing affordable housing.
Despite legal protections, voucher holders often face barriers when landlords or real estate professionals refuse to rent to them. Advocates argue this perpetuates systemic inequalities in housing access.
What's next:
Romer-Friedman emphasized that the complaints are intended to prompt cooperation with the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR).
The IDHR enforces the Illinois Human Rights Act, which "forbids discrimination in real estate transactions," including source of income discrimination.
HRI aims to work with the state to end discriminatory practices and ensure compliance with housing laws. If the landlords, realtors, and companies named in the complaints fail to comply, they could face legal action, Romer-Friedman added.