Summary

Tenants with rental assistance vouchers in New York City regularly experience source of income (SOI) discrimination when searching for housing; this discrimination exists on a spectrum when considering the intersecting identities of voucher holders. Whether a New Yorker is just beginning the voucher application process, applying for housing with a landlord, or navigating the city’s rental assistance bureaucracy, voucher holders report varying experiences of discrimination based on race, gender, disability, language, and education. In 2025, Unlock NYC recruited a Participatory Action Research (PAR) Committee made up of impacted New Yorkers to connect with nearly 200 voucher holders through surveys and interviews to explore how racial, gender, and other disparities impact the journeys of voucher holders in New York City. As we parsed through hundreds of stories and data points, we decided to zero in on the NYC Human Resources Administration as a poignant case study illustrating how voucher holders run up against a rigged system designed to fail them. As the nation’s largest social services agency, HRA currently serves three million low-income New Yorkers through its public benefits programs, including rental and cash assistance programs. Unfortunately, our research shows that HRA currently falls short of supporting voucher holders in their housing journey, and in fact replicates systemic disparities – and we have ideas on how to fix that.

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