Kosoglyadov v. 3130 Brighton Seventh, LLC

In Kosoglyadov v. 3130 Brighton Seventh, LLC (54 AD3d 822 [2d Dept 2008]), the Court held that the landlords violated the J-51 law, which prohibits withholding of "any of the dwelling accommodations in such property or any of the privileges or services incident to occupancy therein" (Administrative Code 11-243 [k]), by refusing to accept a Section 8 voucher from long-term tenants. In reaching this determination, the appellate court did not require the tenants to demonstrate that they could not otherwise afford to continue to rent the apartment, even though they had already been residing there for many years. As Local Law 10 contains substantially similar language to the J-51 law, the result would not be any different. Moreover, defendants' interpretation would be inconsistent with the purpose of Local Law 10--to prevent discrimination based on any "lawful source of income."