A Sacramento landlord is suing California, arguing that requirements tied to accepting Section 8 tenants violate property owners’ Fourth Amendment rights, an argument that recently upended New York’s voucher anti-discrimination law.
Tom Manning, the owner of Sacramento-based property management company Tower Bridge Property Management, is suing the state of California over rules tied to Housing Choice (Section 8) vouchers, arguing that the additional inspections and paperwork required of participating landlords violate constitutional protections against unreasonable searches, as CalMatters reports.
The lawsuit was filed against the California Civil Rights Department last week in federal court by the Sacramento-based libertarian Pacific Legal Foundation, which has previously challenged California's impact fees and inclusionary zoning requirements.
California has prohibited landlords from refusing tenants solely because they use Section 8 vouchers since 2020, but landlords who accept vouchers must also allow health and safety inspections and complete paperwork with local housing authorities.
According to the Sacramento Business Journal, Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Austin Waisanen argues that the lawsuit is not challenging the requirement to accept voucher holders, simply the additional obligations that come with participating in the program, noting that California law effectively forces landlords to accept inspections and administrative requirements tied to Section 8 vouchers or risk civil liability.
“That’s a waiver of Fourth Amendment protections for these types of inspections without a warrant,” Waisanen said. “The burden is real.”
A spokesperson for the California Civil Rights Department said the agency would respond through the courts.
New York's anti-Section 8 discrimination rule was struck down earlier this year after an appeals court sided with landlords making the same Fourth Amendment argument, as CBS News reported at the time. The decision arose from a lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James against an upstate landlord, and her office is weighing an appeal, as voucher holders and advocates fear the ruling could lead to more housing discrimination.
A comparable legal challenge has reportedly been filed in Virginia.
Per CalMatters, tenant advocacy groups have been increasingly filing civil rights lawsuits against landlords who illegally refuse applicants with Section 8 vouchers, as California and several other states continue to enforce bans on housing discrimination.
Earlier this month, Greystar, the nation's largest apartment landlord, was accused of systematically denying voucher holders across multiple states, including California.
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