{"id":7284,"date":"2026-07-16T04:29:33","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T23:29:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=7284"},"modified":"2026-07-16T04:29:33","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T23:29:33","slug":"nations-largest-landlord-accused-of-section-8-discrimination-in-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=7284","title":{"rendered":"Nation&#8217;s largest landlord accused of Section 8 discrimination in California"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ca-times.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/73f5a5e\/2147483647\/strip\/false\/crop\/2500x1669+0+0\/resize\/1500x1001!\/quality\/75\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fce%2F4f%2F3325ceb147bc81b09a2039658a2e%2Fsection-8-lawsuits-trap.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div data-element=\"story-body\" data-subscriber-content=\"\">\n<p>Greystar, the largest corporate landlord in the country, has been accused of refusing to accept Section 8 housing vouchers in California.<\/p>\n<p>In a complaint filed to the California Civil Rights Department, the watchdog group <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.housingrightsus.org\/\" target=\"_blank\"><u>Housing Rights Initiative<\/u><\/a> identified 53 examples of Greystar offices and property managers in California saying they don\u2019t accept the vouchers. The complaint was the result of a months-long investigation in which undercover operators posed as prospective tenants and recorded phone calls with Greystar employees to test their compliance with the law.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDuring calls, our investigators asked questions any tenant would ask: utilities, rent, etc.\u201d said Aaron Carr, executive director of Housing Rights Initiative. \u201cThen at the end of the conversation, they asked the million-dollar question: \u2018Do you accept rental assistance?\u2019 Time and time again, the answer was no.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The investigation spanned six states: California, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey and Virginia, as well as Washington D.C. Nearly half of the violations were found in the Golden State, including 15 in L.A. and six in Pasadena.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve never uncovered this many violations against a single company,\u201d Carr said, adding that the previous high was roughly 10 violations, while this investigation uncovered 114. \u201cGreystar is the worst offender we\u2019ve ever come across.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In one instance, an investigator called Jardine Hollywood, an apartment complex located on De Longpre Avenue, asking about availability for two-bedroom apartments and whether Section 8 vouchers could be used to pay rent. In a phone recording shared with The Times, the Greystar employee said, \u201cWe don\u2019t take any Section 8 vouchers at this building.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In another, an investigator called Luxe Pasadena, a complex on Walnut Street, asking if any studios were available. When the conversation turned to Section 8, the employee said, \u201cI was told we do not do that here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a statement, Greystar said that the company \u201cremains committed to fair housing practices in everything we do. Greystar provides training and expects our team members to comply with all applicable laws.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The complaints center around the Fair Employment and Housing Act, <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/calcivilrights.ca.gov\/employment\/\" target=\"_blank\"><u>a state law<\/u><\/a> that prohibits landlords from discriminating against potential tenants based on things like race, gender, ancestry, citizenship, etc. In 2020, California added <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/calcivilrights.ca.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2020\/02\/SourceofIncomeFAQ_ENG.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"><u>source of income<\/u><\/a> to the list, meaning landlords can\u2019t turn away a tenant if they\u2019re planning to pay rent using a Section 8 voucher.<\/p>\n<p>The Section 8 program is one of the country and state\u2019s most powerful tools for fighting homelessness. Launched in 1974, it subsidizes rent for more than 2.3 million people nationwide, including more than 600,000 <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/housingca.org\/our-work\/run\/about-the-housing-voucher-program\/#:~:text=Over%20600%2C000%20people%20in%20300%2C000,system%20needs%20to%20be%20improved.\" target=\"_blank\"><u>in California<\/u><\/a> and 78,000 in <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/hacla.org\/sites\/default\/files\/Documents\/2023-HACLA-Fact-Sheet-v2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"><u>L.A.<\/u><\/a> Voucher holders typically pay around 30% of their adjusted income, and government agencies cover the rest of the rent.<\/p>\n<p>Vouchers are extremely valuable, and the <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2025-03-06\/los-angeles-stops-accepting-new-applicants-for-section-8-citing-budget-uncertainty-in-washington\"><u>waiting list<\/u><\/a> to get them is years-long. Carr said the discrimination is felt more acutely in places like L.A., where an ongoing housing crunch raises the stakes of finding a home.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe find discrimination everywhere, but the highest rates of discrimination tend to be in the tightest markets,\u201d Carr said, adding that the city\u2019s lack of housing supply contributes to the problem as well.<\/p>\n<p>Carr said he hopes the complaint leads to three things: Greystar abandoning the alleged discrimination; enforcement to ensure continued compliance; and reporting that identifies how many voucher holders are applying and accepted at Greystar properties.<\/p>\n<p>Section 8 discrimination has become an ongoing battle since California made it illegal.<\/p>\n<p>The law has led to hundreds of legal battles, including one woman who filed dozens of $100,000 lawsuits over the last year based on brief exchanges over Zillow, according to <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2026-03-10\/section-8-lawsuits\"><u>an L.A. Times review<\/u><\/a>. In those cases, many defendants told The Times they didn\u2019t understand the law.<\/p>\n<p>However, Carr said Greystar doesn\u2019t get the same excuse.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey know better,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is one of the most powerful, well-resourced real estate companies on earth. They have the best employees and the best lawyers, and they\u2019re just choosing not to accept housing vouchers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Last year, <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/business\/story\/2025-11-24\/national-landlord-settles-with-california-for-gouging-renters-in-la-elsewhere\"><u>Greystar settled a lawsuit<\/u><\/a> accusing the housing giant of colluding to keep rents artificially high, agreeing to pay $7 million in fees and penalties.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Greystar, the largest corporate landlord in the country, has been accused of refusing to accept Section 8 housing vouchers in California. In a complaint filed to the California Civil Rights Department, the watchdog group Housing Rights Initiative identified 53 examples of Greystar offices and property managers in California saying they don\u2019t accept the vouchers. The&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7285,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/ca-times.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/543bdff\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/2500x1313+0+178\/resize\/1200x630!\/quality\/75\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fce%2F4f%2F3325ceb147bc81b09a2039658a2e%2Fsection-8-lawsuits-trap.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7284"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7284\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}